The Tesla CEO filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in December, arguing that the agreement is a “prior restraint” on his First Amendment speech rights and is unconstitutional.  

The 2018 settlement agreement stems from allegations that Musk was influencing Tesla’s stock with social media posts, specifically a tweet about his intentions to take Tesla private, that caused the company’s stock to rise.  

In 2022, Musk asked a lower court to modify or end the agreement, arguing it was unconstitutional and had been abused by the SEC to improperly police his speech.  

But federal appeals court rejected his challenge last May, saying it found “no evidence to support Musk’s contention that the SEC has used the consent decree to conduct bad-faith, harassing investigations of his protected speech.”

The Hill’s Julia Shapero has more here.