WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s attempt to challenge the terms of a settlement he reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission that required a lawyer to review some of his social media posts. was needed.
The judges rejected Musk’s appeal of a ruling in favor of the government agency by the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Musk complained that the SEC unlawfully imposed conditions on his ability to comment online about Tesla-related issues, dubbed the “Twitter sitter” provision.
He has long been an avid user of Twitter, now renamed X. Musk to acquire the social media company in 2022.
The SEC cracked down on Musk after he posted a tweet in 2018 in which he said he had secured funding to take Tesla private, which was a shock to the market and initially sent the company’s shares soaring. Came. The agency said the tweets were “materially false and misleading” in violation of securities law.
Musk agreed to settle a civil securities action brought by the SEC. As part of that agreement, he signed a social media provision.
In a separate civil case, a jury last year found Musk not liable for misleading investors.
Now, Musk is saying his speech limits are unconstitutional and says he was effectively forced to agree to it. His lawyers said in court papers that the SEC has waged an “ongoing campaign” against Musk.
“This provision restricts Mr. Musk’s speech even when it is truthful and accurate,” the lawyers said. “It extends to speech not covered by the securities laws and has implications for the SEC’s civil action against Mr. Musk.” There is no connection with the conduct under.”
The SEC responded in court papers that Musk had given up his right to bring his argument when he signed the agreement.
Lower courts agreed in rejecting Musk’s claim.
