Posted on 02/21/2022 5:54:18 AM PST by billorites
A lawyer for Elon Musk blasted the Securities and Exchange Commission and accused the agency of using its power to harass the Tesla founder.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, described a “pattern of conduct” by the SEC that “has gone beyond the pale.” He said that the regulator, which is led by Chairman Gary Gensler, has failed to distribute the $40 million to shareholders it collected as part of a settlement over a 2018 tweet from Musk.
“Instead, it has been devoting its formidable resources to endless, unfounded investigations into Mr. Musk and Tesla,” Spiro wrote.
Musk’s controversial tweet said that he was considering taking Tesla private after its share price reached $420, adding, “funding secured.” The SEC sued Musk in response, although they reached a settlement soon after.
‘SOMETHING HAS GOT TO GIVE’: ELON MUSK CALLS RECORD-HIGH NATIONAL DEBT UNSUSTAINABLE
Spiro also accused the SEC of using its power to investigate Musk and Tesla for his vocal criticism of the government. Musk has repeatedly panned the Biden administration’s proposals and has criticized the government more generally.
“The SEC seems to be targeting Mr. Musk and Tesla for unrelenting investigation largely because Mr. Musk remains an outspoken critic of the government; the SEC’s outsized efforts seem calculated to chill his exercise of First Amendment rights rather than to enforce generally applicable laws in evenhanded fashion,” the letter reads.
Musk, who is the world’s wealthiest person, has not shied away from using his public position, and Twitter platform, to express his political views. Last month he tweeted that President Joe Biden is “treating the American public like fools.”
He also recently tweeted: “If you scare people enough, they will demand removal of freedom. This is the path to tyranny.”
“Canadian truckers rule,” Musk tweeted that same day, referring to the protests against pandemic restrictions and vaccination mandates in Canada. “Freedom is being stripped away one piece at a time until it is gone.”
While Biden was trying to enact his now-dead Build Back Better tax and spending plan, Musk blasted the “trickery” of the bill, channeling pre-eminent free-market economist Milton Friedman.
“Nothing is more permanent than a ‘temporary’ government program,” the billionaire said, which is an almost exact word-for-word quote from Friedman, who is known as a major proponent of free-market capitalism and one of the leaders of the Chicago School of economics.
During a December interview with the Wall Street Journal, Musk said he is not an “extreme libertarian” but does think that the U.S. should reduce the role of the government. Musk also bucked the notion of federal subsidies, even for the electric vehicles that his company is known for.
“It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill at capital allocation and give it to an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government,” Musk said.
“The government is simply the biggest corporation, with a monopoly on violence, and where you have no recourse,” he added, using a phrase attributed to renowned sociologist Max Weber.
Spiro’s Thursday letter concluded by urging the court to intervene on behalf of Musk and Tesla investors.
“Enough is enough. Mr. Musk and Tesla write in the hope that the Court can bring the SEC’s harassment campaign to an end, while ensuring that the SEC finally delivers, at long last, on its commitment to Tesla’s shareholders and this Court,” Spiro wrote.
Thursday’s letter to the judge comes as Tesla has issued four recalls this year for its vehicles. The recalls were for various problems, including a faulty seat belt chime and rolling stops at intersections. Earlier this month, Tesla recalled over 800,000 vehicles over an electrical problem that causes the audible seat belt chime to not always activate.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also launched an investigation into more than 400,000 Tesla vehicles over complaints about phantom braking.
While Tesla’s stock skyrocketed during the pandemic, it is down more than 13% over the past month.
And he would be correct. This is truly the evil empire.
Careful Elon. You may currently be one of the richest folks around but don’t piss brandon and his minions off. Zay haf veys of gettink to you.
Congratulations Elon! Now you know what it’s like to be a Conservative.
Galtification well under way.
Yep, someone is close to going Galt. He is just crazy enough to close and abandon the factories too.
Reality hurts when is smacks you in the face.
It’s a semi-stealth Jack Ma treatment on Tesla and SpaceX for now. If he isn’t careful they’ll go all out.
Musk nailed it.
“Nothing is more permanent than a ‘temporary’ government program,” the billionaire said
Boy he said it :)
“stay indoors for 10 days. That oughta do it for the virus”
:)
According to the standards being implemented by the WEF, if a business is not working with the government, they need to be destroyed. No independent thinking allowed.
Just wait until Fedzilla decides that his bank accounts need to be frozen for gettin’ uppity.
The SEC just won another National Championship, I don’t think they care about what Tesla is doing...
Elon Musk is supposed to be the richest man in the world.
I predict his wealth will plummet dramatically when all the Tesla vehicle batteries die and all the Tesla vehicle fires burn down entire neighborhoods.
Anyone with liability like that and the world’s deepest pockets will have the world’s best lawyers after him by the droves.
U.S. should reduce the role of the government
He’s 100% right look what it’s done in the last year.
RECORD-HIGH NATIONAL DEBT UNSUSTAINABLE
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