Musk Facing Contempt Over Tweet
In the saga that is Elon Musk's use of Twitter, the Tesla CEO is now facing contempt of court in a New York federal district court for his social media boasting which violated his prior settlement agreement with the SEC to not Tweet anything material without approval of Tesla counsel.
In short, last month, Musk tweeted out that his company was going to make "around 500K" cars in 2019. Unfortunately for Musk, information like that is material, particularly for shareholders and prospective stock purchasers, given that the real numbers were about 100K lower, which translates to billions of dollars in revenue.
Facing Judicial Fury
One of the noted issues that the court may have when dealing with a personality like Musk, is the lack of value of money. Even if the court were to levy a multi-million dollar fine, he could pay it and move on with his day. While commentators explain that the court does have the authority to order more extreme punishment, until monetary sanctions prove ineffective, another route is unlikely. Although ...
Court Ordered Twitter Ban?
Curiously, while Musk could likely pay whatever fine issued by the court, or find another way around court ordered corporate restrictions, a temporary ban on his use of social media might actually serve as an appropriate punishment for this specific act of contempt, at least in Musk's position.
Related Resources:
- Tesla Names New General Counsel (FindLaw's In House)
- What's Next After Musk, Tesla Settle With SEC? (FindLaw's In House)
- Elon Musk Subpoenaed by SEC for Tweets (FindLaw's In House)