A 2018 tweet made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggesting workers would lose stock options if they formed a union was ruled as protected speech Friday, preventing Musk from having to follow a prior court order commanding him to delete the controversial post.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks at a town hall with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave ... [+]
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said in a filing the tweet, which asked Tesla workers “why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?” fell under protected speech and did not have to be deleted, overturning an order from the National Labor Relations Board last year to remove the post.
The court said Musk’s tweet does not “fall into the categories of unprotected communication like obscenity and perjury” and that the NLRB is “powerless to delete protected speech.”
The court noted it did not reach a conclusion on whether the tweet was a violation of the National Labor Relations Act, which gives employees the power to form or join unions.
Friday’s ruling stems from when three pro-union Tesla workers and the United Auto Workers filed charges with the NLRB against Tesla more than three years ago, accusing it of engaging in unfair labor practices.
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We estimate Musk’s net worth at $274.7 billion, making him the world’s wealthiest person.
Musk’s tweet was part of a larger thread in which the tech billionaire criticized the United Auto Workers, which represents more than 400,000 members. Musk said the labor union “did nada” for job security during the last recession and accused it of taking away benefits from unionized workers when asked if he was threatening to pull benefits from Tesla workers who wanted to unionize. Musk and the UAW clashed just two months ago when the labor union filed labor charges against him and former President Donald Trump for comments they made during an interview together. The UAW argued both men were advocating “for the illegal firing of striking workers.”
Auto Workers Union Files Labor Charges Against Trump And Musk After X Interview (Forbes)