The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Elon Musk’s challenge to a 2018 settlement agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that required lawyers to approve some of the billionaire’s public posts about Tesla. .
Tesla’s CEO appealed to the Supreme Court in December, arguing that the agreement is unconstitutional because it is a “prior restriction” on First Amendment speech rights.
“The preclearance clause in Mr. Musk’s consent decree, as embodied in the amended final judgment, is the classic pre-detention clause that the law prohibits. ” his lawyers argued in a petition to the high court.
“Without prior approval to the satisfaction of the SEC and the courts, the endless threats of contempt, fines, and even imprisonment will chill Musk’s otherwise protected speech,” they added. .
The 2018 settlement agreement stemmed from allegations that Musk influenced Tesla stock by causing a rise in the stock price with social media posts, specifically tweets about his intention to take Tesla private. is emitting.
In 2022, Musk asked a lower court to modify or terminate the agreement, arguing that it was unconstitutional and being exploited by the SEC to unfairly police his speech.
In May of last year, a federal appeals court found no evidence to support Mr. Musk’s claims that the SEC used the consent decree to conduct a malicious and harassing investigation of his protected speech. The appeal was dismissed.
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