The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Elon Musk about a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to obtain approval before certain tweets related to You’re herethe electric vehicle company he runs.
The justices did not comment on upholding lower court rulings against Musk, who complained that the requirement amounts to a “prior restraint” of his speech in violation of the First Amendment.
The case stems from tweets posted by Musk in 2018 in which he claimed to have secured financing to take Tesla private. The tweets caused the company’s stock price to jump and led to a temporary trading halt.
The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission included a requirement that his tweets first be approved by a Tesla lawyer. He also called on Musk and Tesla to pay civil penalties for tweets in which Musk said he “secured financing” to take Tesla private at $420 per share.
Financing has not been secured and Tesla remains public.
The SEC’s first enforcement action against Musk alleged that his tweets about going private violated the antifraud provisions of the securities laws. The agency began investigating whether Musk violated the agreement in 2021 when he failed to get approval, before asking his followers Twitternow X, if he were to sell 10% of his Tesla shares.
Musk acquired Twitter in 2022.
