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Supreme Court Rejects Elon Musk’s Appeal Over “Twitter Sitter”
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By Nithya Bose in Business News, posted April 30, 2024
The Supreme Court has rejected Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s attempt to nullify an agreement requiring a lawyer to vet some of his social media posts.
The Securities and Exchange Commission enforced the appointment of a "Twitter sitter."
Musk complained the agency unlawfully restricted his ability to comment online about Tesla-related issues without prior approval.
The justices overturned Musk’s appeal of a ruling by the New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of SEC.
Musk's legal troubles with the SEC began after his 2018 tweets, which claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private.
The tweets sparked a market reaction, initially causing Tesla's shares to surge.
The SEC subsequently accused Musk of violating securities law, deeming his tweets "materially false and misleading."
Musk settled the civil case brought by the SEC, which included the social media provision in question.
In a separate case, a jury found Musk not liable for misleading investors.
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Musk argues the SEC's restrictions infringe on his constitutional right to free speech, claiming he was coerced into accepting the settlement.
His lawyers say the SEC has waged an "ongoing campaign" against him.
They argue that the provision "restricts Mr. Musk's speech even when truthful and accurate."
The SEC countered in court documents that Musk waived his right to contest the settlement when he signed it.
Lower courts have supported this view, rejecting Musk's claims.
Despite the legal setbacks, Musk has remained an active and impulsive user of Twitter, now renamed X, following his acquisition of the social media platform in 2022.
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