It seems like Elon Musk and US president Donald Trump have one thing in common – neither of them can handle Twitter.
The former is in hot water again, with the Tesla CEO making a legal appearance earlier this week in Manhattan, as a federal judge decided whether he was in contempt of court following his settlement agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) late last year.
The issue between Musk and the SEC arose last year after the CEO sent our several misleading tweets regarding investments that the firm were looking into in a bid to take the public company private.
Musk disputed the lawsuit, but later agreed to a settlement where he stepped down as chairman and said he would not tweet out similarly misleading tweets about the financial dealings of the business.
This most recent court visit comes about as the SEC contests that Musk did not have tweets sent out in February this year vetted by any Tesla in-house lawyer, which breaches the terms of the settlement. The tweet in question related to an estimated 500 000 cars that Tesla would make in 2018, which was later corrected by a follow-up tweet.
As such now Musk’s lawyers and the SEC are in court to discuss the matter, but federal judge Alison Nathan has told both parties to hash out their differences and come to a resolution for their next court date two weeks from now, therefore offering Musk a reprieve.
The judge also added that both parties should, “take a breath… come back with your reasonableness pants on,” as per The Verge.
Whether both parties will be able to do so remains to be seen, but it certainly is in the best interest for Musk, especially if he wishes to continue as Tesla CEO.
As for his tweeting habits, which have landed him in hot water on more than one occasion, The Verge’s Andrew J. Hawkins writes that when Musk was asked by a fellow reporter whether he’ll keep on tweeting, he simply looked back over his shoulder and grinned.
Reading into that what you will, it seems as if Elon Musk probably isn’t going to learn his lesson.
