Court Rules Musk’s Tesla Tweets Still Need Attorney Approval

Court Rules Musk’s Tesla Tweets Still Need Attorney Approval

Share to Linkedin An appeals court held up a ruling on Monday that Elon Musk cannot back out of a 2018 settlement with securities regulators requiring attorney approval of his tweets about Tesla, after the billionaire suggested he had secured funding to make Tesla private, wreaking havoc for shareholders. Musk argued the required approval of his tweets muzzles his freedom of speech. Musk challenged the terms of the 2018 settlement last year that required him to have an attorney sign off on his tweets about Tesla, arguing the order was a violation of free speech, but a Manhattan federal court struck down the appeal Monday. The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Musk and Tesla for securities fraud in 2018 after Musk tweeted he had "funding secured" and investor support confirmed to take Tesla private for $420 per share—a deal to take Tesla private never came to fruition, and the company's share price fluctuated for weeks following the tweet. Musk settled with the SEC without admitting wrongdoing, with the billionaire and Tesla each paying $20 million in fines. Musk also agreed to step down as Tesla chairman and receive approval on all of his tweets about Tesla as part of the