Elon Musk Equals Himself To Eminem, Because The SEC Is Stifling His Freedom Of Speech

Eminem once admitted his freedom of speech was suppressed by the US government. (photo: @Eminem)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk on Tuesday, March 29 likened himself to US rapper Eminem in a bid to scrap his 2018 agreement with the top US securities regulator that required Tesla Inc's chief executive to get pre-approval for his tweets.

In a filing in federal court in Manhattan, Musk also renewed his efforts to drop the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges for details about whether he and Tesla complied with their disclosure requirements under the 2018 approval decision.

The SEC is investigating Elon Musk's November 6, 2021 tweet. In that tweet he asked his followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock, to cover the then-current tax bill on stock options. He has sold around $16.4 billion of his stake in the electric car company.

In the lawsuit last Tuesday, Musk said that requiring Tesla's attorneys to examine some of his tweets was an unconstitutional restraint on his speech and violated the US First Amendment free speech.

"(SEC) won't let me be or let me be me, so let me see; They're trying to shut me down," Musk said, quoting from Eminem's 2002 song "Without Me," as quoted by Reuters.

The lyrics to Eminem's song refer to the Federal Communications Commission, which has fined radio stations playing "The Real Slim Shady," an Eminem song deemed offensive.

Musk also said the SEC issued the lawsuit in bad faith, and was unable to pursue a "fishing expedition" to harass him.

The SEC declined to comment on Elon Musk's allegations.

They say Musk is not immune from scrutiny over his Tesla-related tweets, and should not be excluded from the 2018 agreement because he finds compliance making conditions "less comfortable than he expected."

The deal stems from Musk's tweet on August 7, 2018. In that tweet he mentioned that he had "earned funds" that could potentially turn Tesla into a private company. Musk said last Tuesday that the tweet was true.

The case is overseen by US District Judge Alison Nathan. He last week won a US Senate Approval lawsuit to become a federal appeals judge, and could continue to preside over his existing cases.