Elon Musk may almost Twitter now, but the billionaire still needs to have his tweets about Tesla pre-approved, as appointed by a US judge. Musk’s attempts to overturn these restrictions from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have denied over multiple concerns of stock manipulation.
Musk still needs a Twitter Sitter
Musk's social media restrictions have been enforced as a way to limit massive surges in Tesla stock. The restrictions first arose after the billionaire made a number of tweets that resulted in Tesla share prices fluctuating wildly, resulting in his removal as Chairman.
On his part, Musk feels that he was forced to take the deal and claims that the SEC has used this agreement to harass him and investigate his speech. Musk also claims that he did not lie to shareholders in regards to his tweets but that didn’t work out for him. It’s somewhat ironic how Elon Musk wants to make Twitter more about “free speech” while he needs the approval to tweet about his company.
The irony wasn’t lost on the US judge Lewis Liman, who rejects all of Musk’s appeals to remove his Twitter Sitter. While Musk is free to tweet offensively, this rejection means that the billionaire will still need the approval to tweet about his company. Liman’s statement can be read below.
"Musk cannot now seek to retract the agreement he knowingly and willingly entered by simply bemoaning that he felt like he had to agree to it at the time but now -- once the specter of the litigation is a distant memory and his company has become, in his estimation, all but invincible -- wishes that he had not."
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What did Elon Musk tweet about?
In 2018 Musk tweeted about Tesla going private, claiming that he secured the funding to make it happen. However, he failed to provide any proof of this and was accused of fraud by his angry shareholders, resulting in the loss of his position.
Fast forward to 2020 and Musk joked about how Tesla’s stock price is too high. This led to the company losing $14 billion in value. Musk also had $3 billion taken from his stake in the company.
Then in 2021, Musk asked his followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. Unsurprisingly, this led to the SEC asking for documents about this tweet, which he has unsuccessfully tried to fight off.
Doesn't he own Twitter though?
While Elon Musk did pay a staggering $44 billion to own the app, that seemingly doesn't mean he can do whatever he wants. For starters, the billionaire doesn't own the social media outlet yet, although the acquisition is in its final stages. Musk's tweets cost Tesla a lot of money and this is hardly the worst punishment he could face, especially now that a judge has approved his restraints.
Plus this only covers his tweets about Tesla. The billionaire is free to tweet about "free speech" and bad anime as much as he likes.