In the middle-aged man’s latest example of desperately trying to seem younger and more hip, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has cited a song from Eminem in court.
The businessman is currently calling on the U.S.’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to throw out a 2018 agreement requiring Tesla lawyers to vet his tweets. In a court filing, Musk quoted rapper Eminem’s 2002 hit “Without Me” and replaced “FCC” with “SEC.”
“The [SEC] won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see / They tried to shut me down,” said Musk via his lawyers.
For context, Eminem originally said that following a Colorado radio station being fined for playing an edited version of his 2000 song “The Real Slim Shady,” which it argued featured “indecent language.” The fee was ultimately rescinded, with the FCC noting that it “did not violate the applicable statute or our indecency rule, and that no sanction is warranted.”
Now, Musk’s lawyers are making the same case for Musk, arguing that “the First Amendment requires that agencies proceed with caution when constitutional rights are at stake.” On Twitter, Musk added in a tongue-in-cheek tweet that he and Eminem are “basically identical [with] a few differences maybe.”
The agreement to have Musk’s tweets vetted came about in 2018 after the Tesla CEO tweeted that he was “considering taking Tesla private at $420” per share. The SEC accused Musk of misleading investors, and Musk eventually signed an agreement to allow his lawyers to approve any tweets containing information that could affect the company’s stock price.
While it remains to be seen what will come out of this legal dispute, Musk is already looking beyond Twitter. After questioning whether Twitter adheres to the principles of free speech, Musk said he’s “giving serious thought” to building a new social platform.
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
