The US Supreme Court rejects Elon Musk’s appeal in ‘funding secured’ tweet ruling

On Monday, the US Supreme Court dismissed Elon Musk’s appeal about a 2018 SEC settlement regarding his infamous “funding secured” tweet. Ars Technica reports that the conservative-majority court took a break from weighing whether US Presidents should be above the law to pass on Musk’s attempt to throw out the agreement, which required him to pay fines, step down from Tesla’s board and have his tweets pre-screened by a lawyer.

The justices denied Musk’s petition without commenting. Their unwillingness to take up the billionaire’s appeal leaves intact an appeals court ruling from a year ago that smacked down the Tesla founder’s claims of victimhood.

The saga began in 2018 when Musk tweeted, “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” He also posted, “Investor support is confirmed. Only reason why this is not certain is that it’s contingent on a shareholder vote.” Tesla’s stock rose by more than six percent.

There was only one tiny problem: The funding wasn’t secured, and the SEC takes false statements that affect investors very seriously. The SEC said, “Musk had not even discussed, much less confirmed, key deal terms, including price, with …read more