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Supreme Court gives SEC a win over Elon Musk

Elon Musk
Elon Musk. LEON NEAL/Getty Images
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The Supreme Court isn't going to step in to help Elon Musk get rid of his "Twitter sitter."

The court on Monday rejected an appeal by the billionaire Tesla CEO over a previous settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission which requires Musk to get legal approval for any posts he makes on X about Tesla.

Musk settled with the SEC in 2018 after he tweeted that he had the "funding secured" to take Tesla private in a deal that never came to pass.

He filed a petition with the Supreme Court to undo the settlement in December, arguing it limited his free speech.

"It restricts Mr. Musk's speech even when truthful and accurate," Musk's lawyers argued. "And it chills Mr. Musk's speech through the never-ending threat of contempt, fines, or even imprisonment for otherwise protected speech if not pre-approved to the SEC's or a court's satisfaction."

In an earlier filing, Musk quoted Eminem lyrics while challenging the settlement.

The Supreme Court declined to take up the case; the justices didn't list why they wouldn't hear Musk's challenge.

Business Insider has reached out to X and Tesla for comment.

The Tesla boss — who also runs SpaceX and X — has been no stranger to feuds with government officials.

He's raged against the SEC, called Joe Biden a "damp sock puppet in human form," and picked a fight this year with one of Brazil's top judges.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that the SEC was opening up a new line of investigation against Musk, probing Tesla's claims about its self-driving tech.

That tech has also come under fire from federal regulators, who said last week they'd linked Tesla's Autopilot feature to hundreds of crashes.

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Geoff Weiss
Geoff Weiss is a senior reporter on Business Insider’s tech team, where he covers Nvidia and AI infrastructure. His reporting focuses on the business of AI compute, emerging startups, and the people and strategies shaping the industry.Previously, Geoff was on the media desk, covering YouTube and Netflix, and themes like the intersection of Hollywood and the creator economy. His work on Netflix’s video podcasting ambitions and Mr Beast’s lessons for Hollywood won second and first prize, respectively, at the 2025 LA Press Club Awards.Prior to joining Business Insider, Geoff was the senior editor of Tubefilter and a staff writer at Entrepreneur. He graduated from New York University with a degree in English Literature.He can be reached at gweiss@bjinnox.com, on Signal @geoffweiss.25, and on LinkedIn. Have a tip? Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.