The Biden administration has taken a stance in the ongoing legal battle between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The administration has urged the US Supreme Court to reject Musk's appeal in the SEC dispute.
The dispute stems from Musk's controversial tweets in 2018 about taking Tesla private, which led to allegations of securities fraud by the SEC. Musk and the SEC reached a settlement in 2018, which required Musk to step down as Tesla's chairman and pay a $20 million fine.
However, Musk's legal team has been fighting to overturn a lower court ruling that found him in contempt of the settlement agreement. Musk argues that his tweets were not material to Tesla's stock price and that the SEC's enforcement actions violate his First Amendment rights.
The Biden administration's filing with the Supreme Court supports the SEC's position and argues that Musk's appeal should be rejected. The administration contends that Musk's tweets did impact Tesla's stock price and that the lower court's ruling was justified.
This latest development adds another layer of complexity to the legal battle between Musk and the SEC. The Supreme Court will now have to decide whether to hear Musk's appeal and potentially set a precedent for how the SEC can enforce securities laws in the future.
As the case continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the Supreme Court will ultimately rule on Musk's appeal and what implications it may have for the broader regulatory landscape surrounding securities fraud and corporate governance.
