Judge Shuts Down Elon Musk’s ‘Absurdly Broad’ Data Requests
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s ongoing battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over data requests continues, with the judge in his case rejecting his bid to obtain information that he argued would help him defend himself against charges that he misled investors. In the latest development, the U.S.
If you have time, read the court documents
Elon Musk’s recent FOIA requests for Tesla Data from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) are being challenged. Judge Alison Nathan is ordering that Elon Musk be barred from inspecting Tesla documents, data, or communications that the SEC views as confidential – with limited exceptions.
This would bar Elon Musk from obtaining any information on sensitive discussions of acquisition targets, material company-wide strategic initiatives, and important market-sensitive commercial activities.
Judge Nathan is concerned about how the data could be used by competitors in a way that could lead to significant problems down the line if it fell into the wrong hands. It remains unclear how this would impact Elon Musk’s legal battle against now ex-girlfriend Amber Heard, but this ruling won’t do anything to help his case.
The judge dismissed Mr. Musk’s request for information from Google, Facebook, and other companies that made hundreds of dollars by selling ads to Mr. Musk on his Instagram account — even though the account had only 12 followers — because those ad buyers aren’t part of Tesla’s trade secrets
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion filed by Google and other defendants to dismiss Elon Musk’s data requests because the court found that his requests were unreasonably broad and would impose an undue burden on those companies.
Musk, who is both the founder of Tesla and CEO, wanted information from all ad buyers that had purchased space on Musk’s Instagram account to try to figure out how much money he was owed.
The data was not relevant to Tesla’s lawsuit and would be too burdensome for those companies to produce. The data requested was broad, vague, and did not have enough specificity as to what in particular Musk wanted it for. So why does a celebrity with 12 followers on Instagram need so much information about advertisers?
Judge Alsup wasn’t convinced that it was relevant or helpful to resolving any payment dispute, nor would it be easy for those companies to collect even if it were relevant. For example, if I bought a pair of shoes from Amazon, how difficult is it for them or anyone else to find out how much I paid and what my email address is?
The court also determined Mr. Musk was seeking information that was irrelevant to his case
Tesla’s (TSLA) Elon Musk is not getting his way in court as a federal judge on Thursday rejected Mr. Musk’s request for subpoenas on several former employees in connection with the businessman’s civil lawsuit against electric car maker’s former chief executive, Greg Mark Thurber.
While Tesla had claimed the subpoenas were necessary to defend the company, Judge Beth Labson Freeman wrote that they were overbroad and lack specificity.
What is data?
The order will force Mr. Musk and Tesla to narrow their focus
A judge rejected Elon Musk’s absurdly broad request for data from short-sellers and criticized the Tesla CEO in a hearing Thursday morning. The order forces Mr. Musk and Tesla to narrow their focus to investors who have disclosed short positions in the company and traders who received confidential information about Tesla’s car deliveries. The judge urged Mr.
Mr. Musk had argued that a single perpetrator could be behind all of Tesla’s stock-price moves and that data from short-sellers, investors who profit when shares fall, would help prove his case. But U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan ruled that Mr. Musk didn’t give any indicia of potential defendants. Her ruling noted that Mr.
If they find there are grounds for a case against Mr. Musks it could set off an expensive legal battle with little chance of success
Just last week, Elon Musk filed a suit with the SEC and courts to subpoena information related to potential market manipulation by Tesla short-sellers. Musk claimed the defendants have engaged in a particularly pernicious example of market manipulation that has cost investors billions of dollars. Yesterday, a federal judge shut down
Mr. Musk’s request is absurdly broad. The key question, in this case, is whether short-sellers committed market manipulation when they published tweets and posts on websites referencing media reports on Tesla, causing the company’s stock to decline. If you ask Musk, who claims he has proof, it’s a matter of finding the source of the leaks.
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