Elon Musk defends tweets in contempt proceedings – TechCrunch



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You're here Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said Friday that his use of Twitter did not violate an agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and that his claim of contempt was based on a "radical interpretation" of the company. order, according to court records in Manhattan federal court.

The SEC has asked a judge to sentence Musk in contempt for violating the settlement agreement reached last year over the now-infamous "guaranteed funding" tweet. Under the agreement, Musk is expected to obtain approval from Tesla's board of directors before disclosing potentially important information to investors.

Musk says that he has not violated the agreement and that the problem lies in the interpretation of the SEC, which he describes as "virtually flawed at all levels". The filing also reveals new details about settlement negotiations, including the fact that the SEC sent Musk a draft agreement that would have required it to obtain prior approval of all public statements relating to the settlement. Tesla, whatever their format.

Musk and Tesla have never accepted these conditions. Musk baderts that this agreement requires it to comply with Tesla's policy, which would require prior approval for "written communications containing, or that may reasonably contain, information intended for the company or its shareholders".

The barbs exchanged via court records are the latest in a fierce battle between the billionaire entrepreneur and the SEC started last August when Musk tweeted that he had "secured funding" for a takeover. private control of the company at $ 420 per share. The SEC filed a lawsuit in September in federal court, alleging that Musk had been lying.

Musk and Tesla reached an agreement with the SEC last year without admitting to having committed wrongdoing. Tesla agreed to pay a $ 20 million fine; Musk had to agree to step down as president of Tesla for a period of at least three years. the company was to appoint two independent directors to the board; Tesla has also been asked to put in place a way to control Musk's statements to the public about society, including via Twitter.

But the fight was revived last month after Musk sent Feb. 19 a tweet that Tesla would produce "about" 500,000 cars this year, correcting himself hours later to say that he meant that the company would produce an annualized rate of 500,000 vehicles. at the end of the year.

The SEC argued that the tweet sent by Musk violated their agreement. Musk said the tweet was "immaterial" and complied with the rules.

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