Elon Musk isn’t backing down in his rejuvenated campaign against the SEC. Ars Technica reports the Tesla chief has asked a federal court to terminate his $20 million settlement with the SEC in 2018 over claims the regulator both pressured him into an agreement and overstepped its limits. Musk felt “forced” to sign the consent decree at a time when Tesla’s financial health was at risk, according to the memorandum of law sent to the court. The EV executive also insisted in a declaration that he told the truth in tweets at the heart of the dispute — he maintained he really had been considering taking Tesla private and had secured funding.
Musk also characterized the SEC’s approach as “governmental abuse.” Officials were allegedly using the agreement to police Musk’s First Amendment free speech rights by requiring that he pass tweets through an approved monitor who would determine what…
