Elon Musk invoked Eminem, likening himself to the Detroit rapper while seeking to scrap his 2018 agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which requires the Tesla CEO to get preapproval for his tweets. 

In a filing, Tuesday, the SpaceX CEO noted that the need for Tesla lawyers to vet his tweets was a violation of the First Amendment and an unconstitutional restraint on the billionaire’s speech, Reuters reported.  

Also Read | Tesla announces 2nd stock split in less than 2 years

Musk said, “The (SEC) won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see; They tried to shut me down”, quoting the 2002 song ‘Without Me’. There, Marshall Mathers or Eminem speaks of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which had fined radio stations for playing ‘The Real Slim Shady’, a song they found offensive. 

The top US securities regulator is looking into Musk’s tweet on November 6, 2021, where he asked followers whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla stake to cover tax bills on his stock options. 

The entrepreneur has always advocated for free speech, and in a recent cryptic tweet has indicated he might be starting his own social media platform. This announcement comes after Musk’s criticism that Twitter is clamping down on people seeking to express their opinions. 

Also Read | How Elon Musk, Peter Thiel nearly died in a 2000 car crash

Musk also tried, in his filing, to quash the SEC subpoena seeking details of whether Musk and Tesla are keeping to the disclosure agreements outlined in the 2018 consent decree. According to Musk, the subpoena is in bad faith and is just a fishing expedition meant to harass him. While the SEC declined to comment, Reuters reported the US body had noted Musk did not have immunity from scrutiny for his Tesla-related tweets, and shouldn’t be excused from the 2018 agreement because he was finding it harder to comply than initially hoped. 

The agreement came on August 7, 2018, after Musk tweeted he’d secured funding for the potential privatization of Tesla. On Tuesday, Musk said this tweet was truthful.