US Supreme Court Refuses Elon Musk’s Appeal Over SEC Settlement: Reuters

The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to accept the case in which Elon Musk tried to get back part of the settlement he struck with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), one that limits the ideas his public about Tesla’s reports. Reuters.

US constitutional judges denied a request by Musk’s lawyers to review a lower court ruling in 2018 that Musk was bound by the SEC settlement.

The financial market regulator took action against Musk and Tesla after the South African billionaire claimed on social media that he had secured the funding needed to take the carmaker out of the US stock market.

Musk settled with the SEC to end an investigation accusing him of misleading investors by making that claim. As part of the settlement, Musk and Tesla each paid $20 million in fines and the billionaire agreed to step down as chairman of its board.

Musk also agreed to allow Tesla’s lawyer to pre-authorize some of the messages he publishes on the billionaire’s social network Twitter. he bought at the same time and he named it “X”..

The billionaire later tried to get the court to overturn this provision, with his lawyers arguing that it violated the right to freedom of speech. In one of the documents filed in court, Musk’s lawyers describe the clause as a “government-imposed gag” on their client.

Elon Musk has lost lawsuit after lawsuit in the US courts on this issue

After the first court defeat in 2018, Musk also lost on appeal in 2022 and 2023. The court finally noted in its ruling that Musk had freely chosen to allow his Twitter posts to be on the confirmation, and that he cannot now reverse the clause just because he changed his mind.

That court also denied a request from Musk’s lawyers to reconsider the case, forcing them to appeal to the Supreme Court in Washington.

They argued in documents filed with the Supreme Court that the SEC had no right to impose such a condition, and resumed their argument that the clause violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech.

The US Supreme Court has the right to accept or reject cases that reach its desk, and it usually accepts a limited number of cases each year.

In general, the Supreme Court refuses to accept cases where it believes that the case law is clear or that the case is within the jurisdiction of the lower courts.