‘PERSONAL OPINION’

SEC Warned Tesla to Rein In Elon Musk’s Tweeting: Report

The company pushed back after the agency flagged one tweet, arguing it didn’t require approval because it was “wholly aspirational.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission told Tesla in 2019 and 2020 that Elon Musk’s tweeting was in violation of a court order and asked the company to rein the eccentric CEO in, The Wall Street Journal reports. According to records obtained by the paper, officials informed Tesla that two tweets posted by Musk ran afoul of a court-ordered policy that his Twitter posts be reviewed by company lawyers. The offending tweets were about Tesla’s solar roof production volumes and stock prices. The court order had specifically said public messages about “production numbers or sales or delivery numbers” had to be approved by attorneys first.

Records reveal that after the SEC flagged one Musk tweet—“Spooling up production line rapidly. Hoping to manufacture ~1000 solar roofs/week by end of this year”—the company pushed back, arguing that the tweet didn’t require approval because it was “wholly aspirational.” In another offending post, Musk tweeted “Tesla’s stock price is too high imo,” but the company argued on this point as well, saying the tweet just represented the CEO’s “personal opinion.” In a letter sent last June, the SEC told Tesla that it hoped to resolve the issue of Musk’s tweeting without taking the company to court.