A federal agency’s order for Elon Musk to delete a 2018 social media post—which union leaders viewed as a threat to employee stock options—was overturned following a federal appeals court ruling.
The case centered on a tweet posted by Musk during United Auto Workers’ organizing efforts at Tesla’s Fremont, California, facility. This post was made years before Musk purchased the platform, now known as X, in 2022.
On May 20, 2018, Musk tweeted: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing? Our safety record is 2X better than when plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare.”
RELATED STORIES
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) initially deemed the tweet an illegal threat. After Tesla appealed, three judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld the NLRB’s decision, including an order for Tesla to reinstate a fired employee with back pay.
However, Tesla sought a rehearing, and the full 5th Circuit ultimately overturned the earlier decision, agreeing to rehear the case. In a 9-8 opinion dated Friday, the judges ruled in favor of Tesla and Musk.
“We hold that Musk’s tweets are constitutionally protected speech and do not fall into the categories of unprotected communication like obscenity and perjury,” the unsigned opinion stated.
The majority also required the NLRB to reconsider its order for the fired employee’s reinstatement, noting a lack of evidence that the worker’s dismissal was motivated by anti-union sentiment.
Judge James Dennis authored a 30-page dissent on behalf of the eight dissenting judges. Dennis argued that the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the First Amendment does not protect threatening, coercive employer speech during labor organization elections—precisely the type of communication Musk posted on Twitter, according to Dennis.
He also contended that the supervisor’s intent in firing the worker was irrelevant, arguing that the worker “was fired for declining to divulge information about protected union activities during an interrogation.”
The ruling sends the case back to the NLRB for further review. It remains unclear if an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court will follow.
READ ALSO: Elon Musk donates over $70 million to support Trump and Republican campaigns
