Billionaire Elon Musk’s lawyers have quoted Eminem lyrics in the latest instalment of their battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fox Business has reported.
Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro referenced the 2002 track ‘Without Me’ in his effort to fight a 2018 agreement which requires the Tesla, Inc. co-founder to obtain pre-approval for his tweets.
“The (SEC) won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see; They tried to shut me down,” he said.
Eminem’s original lyrics were, of course: “The FCC won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see/They tried to shut me down on MTV.”
The rap reference did actually fit Musk’s argument, as it referred to a case where the FCC tried to fine a Colorado radio station for playing Eminem’s 2000 release ‘The Real Slim Shady’ but ultimately relented.
Spiro noted in the court document that the case gave a precedent that “the First Amendment is a critical constitutional limitation that demands we proceed cautiously and with appropriate restraint.”
His argument was that the First Amendment “requires that agencies proceed with caution when constitutional rights are at stake, not seek to pursue any and all novel theories that broaden their authority at the cost of individual freedom.”
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Spiro said the SEC issued its subpoena in “bad faith” and called requiring lawyers to check Musk’s tweets “unconstitutional.”
The regulator filed a lawsuit against Musk in 2018, claiming the statements in that tweet were “false and misleading” and that Musk “knew or was reckless in not knowing” that his statements were false and/or misleading.
Spiro has argued that the SEC cannot take action related to Musk’s tweets without court authorization, emphasizing that the 2018 settlement was reached when Tesla was a less mature company.
For his part, though, Elon Musk is still tweeting regularly:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2022
