Elon Musk wants to overturn SEC decree

NEW YORK Elon Musk'sMusk's lawyers want a federal appeals court to throw out a provision in his 2018 consent decree with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission SEC requiring a lawyer to verify some of his posts on Twitter.

In a brief filed late on Tuesday with the 2nd U.S. The pre-approval mandate in the Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan was a government-imposed muzzle that inhibited and chilled his lawful speech on a broad range of topics, according to lawyers for Musk.

They said the requirement violated the U.S. Constitution, and undermined public policy by running against American principles of free speech and open debate. The SEC didn't want to make a statement on Wednesday. It is expected to file a brief with the appeals court.

Musk wants to overturn part of the April 27 decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman that rejected his bid to throw out the consent decree.

Liman said Musk's arguments amounted to a bemoaning of requirements he no longer wanted to adhere to now that his company has become, in his estimation, all but invincible. Musk, 51, is worth $259.8 billion, nearly twice as much as anyone else, according to Forbes magazine on Wednesday.

The decree dissolved a lawsuit accusing Musk of defrauding investors with a Aug. 7, 2018 tweet that he had funding secured to take his electric car company private, though a buyout was not close. Musk said the tweet was truthful.

Musk agreed to let a lawyer for Tesla screen tweets that might contain material about the company.

Musk gave up his role as Tesla chairman after he and Tesla each paid $20 million in civil fines.

After Musk asked his followers in a Nov. 6, 2021 tweet that he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla stake to cover tax bills on stock options, the SEC opened a probe and subpoenaed documents about Musk's and Tesla's compliance.

In Tuesday's filing, Musk's lawyers said it was time to rein in with the SEC, which is keeping him under constant threat that it might reject his view of disclosures that require pre-approval.

The SEC has tried to curb Mr. Musk's protected speech, which does not touch on the federal securities laws, under the shadow of the consent decree, the lawyers wrote. The pre-approval provision served any objective. Musk is trying to give up his April agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion, saying the company misled him by downplaying the number of fake accounts.

Twitter has sued Musk to force him to complete the merger at the agreed-upon price, which is 23 per cent higher than where its shares were closed on Tuesday. An Oct. 17 trial is scheduled for next month in Delaware Chancery Court.

The case is Musk vs. SEC, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No.