https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/02/tesla-claims-sec-is-harassing-elon-musk-to-muzzle-his-criticism-of-government/

A lawyer for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk claimed in a court filing today that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is harassing the car company and Musk to "muzzle" his criticism of the government. The three-page letter from lawyer Alex Spiro to US District Judge Alison Nathan in New York said the SEC is "weaponizing" the 2018 settlement in which Tesla and Musk agreed to pay $20 million each in penalties to resolve the SEC's complaint that "Musk's misleading tweets" about taking Tesla private caused the stock price to jump "and led to significant market disruption."

The settlement also required Tesla to impose controls on Musk's social media statements. Musk had claimed on Twitter that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 per share, but the SEC said in a lawsuit that "Musk had not even discussed, much less confirmed, key deal terms, including price, with any potential funding source."