According to the federal appeals court, Elon Musk should still consult with a lawyer before publishing tweets about his EV manufacturing company Tesla, Engadget reports.
Back in 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Musk of lying about securing funds for taking Tesla private. The billionaire could later settle with the SEC while the agency insisted on his resignation as Tesla CEO. As a result of this legal battle, Musk was forced in 2019 to get a lawyer approval before tweeting about Tesla, and he also paid $20 million in fines. Musk called the consent decree an unfair “prior restraint.”
Elon Musk’s finance-related tweets about Tesla still need a lawyer’s approval
Since then, Elon Musk has constantly fought to regain freedom by tweeting about his own company. He even called the judge to void the previous settlement with the SEC, arguing that SEC had pressed him to settle and the agency had abused its power.
Musk’s request to void the deal was denied last April. The federal appeals court in Manhattan also denied the billionaire’s appeal. So Musk still needs to show his finance-related tweets to a lawyer before publishing them on his platform, Twitter.
The court panel argued that Musk could defend himself or negotiate a better settlement if he wanted to tweet freely about Tesla. Neither Elon Musk nor Tesla has yet responded to the new court ruling. They’re unlikely to respond as Tesla has no communication team. And Musk doesn’t want a new legal battle with the SEC.
In the initial days of taking over Twitter, Tesla shareholders argued that Musk’s occupation at Twitter might negatively affect the EV manufacturer. While Musk denied such claims at first, now he’s convinced that Twitter needs a full-time CEO. Musk recently named Linda Yaccarino as Twitter’s chief executive. The billionaire added that Yaccarino would focus on business operations while he focuses on product design and new technology.
2023-05-19 15:11:29