Why not Trump! Tesla CEO Elon Musk to the SEC: Don't 'Trample' on My Free Speech --

Discussion in 'Tesla' started by siway, Mar 12, 2019.

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  1. siway

    siway New Member

    Why not Trump! Tesla CEO Elon Musk to the SEC: Don't 'Trample' on My Free Speech --


    Lawyers for Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired back at the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday, arguing that a push to hold Musk in contempt of court for a Twitter post last month infringed on his First Amendment rights.

    In a filing Monday night, Musk's lawyers said Musk's tweet complied with the terms of a September settlement agreement between the Teslafounder and the SEC.

    "Since entry of the Order, Musk has dramatically reduced his volume of tweets generally and regarding Tesla in particular," his lawyers said. "This self-censorship is reflective of his commitment to adhering to the Order and avoiding unnecessary disputes with the SEC."

    On Feb. 19, Musk tweeted: "Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019."

    Following Musk's Twitter post last year that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private, a settlement with the SEC "required more "controls and procedures to oversee Musk's communications." The SEC said Musk's Feb. 19 tweet was inaccurate, and that he did not seek nor receive pre-approval prior to publishing. Musk had until Monday to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt of court.

    Musk's lawyers argued this push was an "invitation to trample on Musk's First Amendment rights and grant the SEC far broader powers than authorized by Congress."
     
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  3. siway

    siway New Member

    Tesla CEO Must on Tweet is a most exactly as President Trump.
    Question: Why Musk alway got troubles, but not Trump?!
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2019
  4. bulls96

    bulls96 Member

    I still think cooperating with SEC and not disparaging them publicly is the right thing to do.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
     
  5. siway

    siway New Member

    Use Tweet is some kind of freedom speech, not officially announcement.
    Trump use tweet. Must use tweet as well. They are the same.

    SEC is doing to much about Musk's Tweet!...
     
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-regulator-wants-reply-musk-185555807.html

    (Reuters) - The top U.S. securities regulator received permission from a federal judge on Tuesday to respond to Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk's arguments that his Twitter post about the electric vehicle maker’s production volume did not violate his recent fraud settlement.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has until March 19 to file a brief, and U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan gave both parties until March 26 to request an evidentiary hearing.
    . . .

    Bob Wilson
     
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  8. interestedinEV

    interestedinEV Well-Known Member

    The First Amendment protects free speech but it is not unfettered. You have libel and slander which are not protected. You cannot for example, shout fire in a crowded dance hall for the fun of it and have people get trampled to death. Company officials have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. You cannot willfully make statements that are not true. Elon did not have funding yet made a statement about funding secured. He burned the shorts but had to agree some conditions to stop SEC action. SEC alleges that he violated the agreement. It is now a contractual issue, not a first amendment issue. Did he break his agreement with SEC. For example, if they do not produce 500,000 vehicles, will he compensate shareholders for their loss (who were expecting profit from larger pool of vehicles). That is the reason why companies are expected to make statements in a formal manner. There is no wriggle room.

    Elon, on the other hand, makes off cuff statements and expects there are no consequences. When he made statements against the cave explorer, he challenged the guy to sue him, without any proof. When he was sued he claimed it is his first amendment rights, even though first amendment does not protect slander. First amendment cannot be an excuse to say anything and everything.

    Let the courts decide if Elon was violating his agreement.
     
  9. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    Corporate officers have a fiduciary responsibility which does put certain constraints on their actions. For publicly owned companies, that does include constraints on making "material" statements about a company's performance or prospects; statements which might reasonably affect the stock price. Yes, that's a constraint on freedom of speech. Welcome to the real world, where our choices often put constraints on our freedoms.

    If Elon Musk doesn't like it, he can:

    1. Step down from his position of corporate officer at Tesla -- meaning he'd no longer be CEO;

    2. Take Tesla private. Oh, yeah... he already tried that, and failed.

    * * * * *

    The comparison to the Orange Don's tweets is pretty obviously, at best, a straw man argument and pot-stirring; at worst, it's trolling. I see no reason to give any substantive response to an obviously false argument entirely lacking in substance.

     

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