On Wednesday (April 27), local time, a U.S. federal judge dismissed a request by former Tesla CEO Elon Musk to terminate the performance of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At the same time, the judge also rejected Musk's motion to revoke the SEC's new subpoena.
In response, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis J. Liman said he would continue to uphold the original judgment because Musk agreed to comply with the terms of the act "knowingly and voluntarily."
In March, Musk filed a preliminary request in court to overturn the settlement. Musk and his lawyers argue that the decree "tramples" on his "First Amendment rights, imposing prior restrictions on his speech."
However, Judge Lehman disagreed with Musk and said he had signed the agreement and had to comply. "Musk can't now seek to withdraw an agreement that he knew and was willing to abide by by simply lamenting that he felt he had to agree to this agreement," he said. ”
He also dismissed Musk's argument that he violated his First Amendment powers, writing: "Even Musk acknowledges that his right to free speech does not allow him to engage in speech that may be considered fraudulent or otherwise in violation of securities laws." Thus, the settlement does not impose an obligation on him that 'federal law does not permit.' ”
In addition, Judge Lehman rejected Musk's request to terminate the SEC's new subpoena against Musk and Tesla. The subpoena was aimed at a poll that Musk began on November 6 last year, when he asked tens of millions of fans if they should sell their 10 percent stake in Tesla, and the subpoena was intended to confirm whether Musk had been censored before tweeting. I wonder what Musk's response to this rejection will be?