US Court of Appeals Overturns NLRB Order on Elon Musk’s 2018 Tweet

The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has overturned a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) order to remove a 2018 tweet from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The tweet implied that Tesla employees would lose their stock options if they chose to unionize.

The court’s decision, made by a narrow margin of 9-8, found that the NLRB’s order violated Musk’s First Amendment rights. The unsigned majority opinion stated that removing a person’s speech on matters of public concern is traditionally unsupported under US law.

The appeals court also ordered the NLRB to reexamine its directive that fired pro-union employees be rehired. However, the court did not address whether the tweet itself violated the National Labor Relations Act.

The lawsuit over Musk’s tweet comes amid efforts by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to organize workers at Tesla’s Fremont, California plant. Musk’s tweet read: “There’s nothing stopping Tesla teams at our car plants from voting union…but why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing?”

Tesla defended the tweet, saying it was not a threat but rather a reflection of the reality that unionized workers at other companies do not receive stock options. A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with this defense in March 2023, but the full court decided to rehear the case.

The legal development comes after Musk acquired social media platform Twitter (now known as X) for $44 billion in 2022. Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, uses the platform extensively.

Circuit Judge James Dennis, who wrote a dissenting opinion, criticized the majority ruling as lacking legal and factual substance.

The US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit’s decision has significant implications for labor laws and free speech in the US.

Related Topics:

• Elon Musk
• Tesla
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
• United Auto Workers (UAW)
• Free Speech
• Labor Laws