On April 4, Elon Musk, SEC, of ​​Tesla, will face a US court

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Elon Musk and the US Securities and Exchange Commission's lawyers will face court in Manhattan next week to determine whether the chief executive of Tesla Inc. should be seen as a contempt of court. one of his tweets.

Judge Alison Nathan of the US District scheduled pleadings on a motion for contempt of the SEC on April 4 at 2 pm EDT (1800 GMT), after both parties declared that they did not see the need for an evidentiary hearing.

Musk was accused by the SEC of violating his October 2018 fraud settlement with the regulator by tweeting February 19 out of its more than 24 million followers on Twitter that Tesla could build about 500 000 vehicles in 2019.

The SEC said the tweet was inappropriate because Musk had not obtained Tesla's prior approval.

Musk's lawyers said the tweet was not material and simply reaffirmed the target of his electric car company based in Palo Alto, California, which he had publicly discussed in January.

John Hueston, a lawyer for Musk, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The SEC did not immediately respond to a similar request.

The settlement was aimed at resolving a lawsuit over a Twitter post last August 7, in which Musk said it obtained "secured financing" for Tesla to be deprived of $ 420 per share.

He asks Musk and Tesla to pay each a civil fine of $ 20 million and Musk to step down as president of Tesla.

Legal experts have said that a contempt conviction could result in a heavier fine for Musk, additional restrictions, or even the dismissal of the Tesla board of directors or his position as chief executive officer. Shares of Tesla closed on Tuesday up $ 7.35, or 2.8%, to $ 267.77 on the Nasdaq.

This is SEC cases c. Musk, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-08865.