Federal Judge Exempts World Conglomerate Elon Musk From SEC Silence Attempts

Elon Musk remains free to tweet on Twitter. (photo: instagram)

JAKARTA – Elon Musk will not be subject to a "silence order" preventing him from discussing a lawsuit that claims he deceived Tesla Inc shareholders by tweeting in 2018 about taking his electric car company private. The ruling was issued by a federal judge on Wednesday, April 20.

US District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco agreed with Musk and Tesla that the temporary restraining order proposed by the SEA seemed redundant because it prevented Musk from speaking to "anyone" about the case.

Chen also found no evidence that allowing Musk, the world's richest person according to Forbes, to speak publicly would pose a "clear and present danger" or "serious and imminent threat" to the trial.

But the judge also said he planned to tell the jury at a trial scheduled for January 2023 that he had ruled that Musk's tweets were false.

Shareholders are suing for losses due to volatility in Tesla's stock after Musk tweeted on August 7, 2018, that he had "earned funds" that could potentially turn Tesla into a private company for $420 per share, and that "investor support confirmed."

Nicholas Porritt, the shareholder's attorney, in an email said he was pleased the jury would be told that the tweet was "fake and fraudulently created by Elon Musk." He said the main remaining issue was the amount of damage to be paid. Lawyers for Musk and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to a Reuters report, the April 15 silence request came one day after Musk told a TED conference in Vancouver that he had been raising funds to privatize Tesla. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to sue him for fraud over his tweets.

Musk and Tesla said the proposed gagging order "raised a level of censorship" that could not be reconciled with the US Constitution's guarantee of free speech.

They also said the order could block Musk from communicating with Tesla shareholders, discussing his proposal to buy Twitter Inc, and trying to end his deal with the SEC, which required Tesla's attorneys to examine some of his tweets.

Musk, on the other hand, said he would never lie to shareholders. He had offered to buy Twitter for 54.20 per share, last week.