It is commonplace for a high-profile businessman to draw loads of lawsuits. However by any normal, Elon Musk is spending loads of money and time on lawsuits.
Musk and his corporations — particularly Tesla, SpaceX, and X (previously generally known as Twitter) — hold working into controversies, whether or not it is over whether or not the merchandise really work in addition to they’re imagined to, the billionaire’s pay construction, his hiring practices, and even his firing practices.
He has additionally grow to be a magnet for private lawsuits. Musk is concerned in messy litigation with Claire Boucher, AKA Grimes, the mom of three of Musk’s youngsters. He has additionally launched lawsuits of his personal by means of his corporations, wading into arguments about free speech on the web. Musk usually depends on Alex Spiro, his longtime private lawyer, to battle and coordinate the instances.
Enterprise Insider has combed by means of court docket information and created an inventory of probably the most important authorized challenges on Musk’s docket.
The lawsuits and authorities investigations into Musk and his corporations vary from discriminatory hiring practices to allegations that a few of Tesla’s options do not work as marketed.
A few of his highest-profile battles — such because the current withdrawal of a lawsuit in opposition to OpenAI and founder Sam Altman, the court docket victories over Musk’s “funding secured” tweet and “pedo man” tweets, his losses in opposition to an anti-hate group and the SEC over a “Twitter sitter,” and his settlement with a Black Tesla worker who was the sufferer of racist discrimination — have been resolved, and are not included on this listing.
Along with his huge wealth, Musk may stand to achieve from supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump within the 2024 election. Over the previous a number of years, Musk’s politics have drifted rightward, and there have been studies he was being thought-about for an advisory function in a second Trump administration if the previous president wins the election. Because the chief of the chief department, Trump — who in his first time period used the levers of the federal authorities for his personal profit — may search to drive companies to drop investigations and ongoing instances in opposition to Musk and his corporations.
Spiro and representatives for Elon Musk didn’t reply to BI’s requests for remark.
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Lawsuits introduced by Musk
Musk v. Media Issues
The difficulty: Musk’s firm X Corp. filed a lawsuit in Texas in opposition to the liberal advocacy group Media Issues in November, alleging the group launched a “blatant smear marketing campaign” in opposition to X.
What is going on on: Final yr, Media Issues printed a report that indicated X was inserting promoting content material subsequent to pro-Nazi posts on the social media web site. The nonprofit’s report appeared to launch one other promoting exodus from Musk’s social media web site.
Musk claims in his lawsuit that the group manipulated its findings and cherry-picked data. In response, Media Issues president Angelo Carusone referred to as it “a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence.”
The difficulty has broadened into investigations from right-wing state attorneys basic in Texas and Missouri, who’re analyzing whether or not Media Issues broke civil legal guidelines with its reporting on Musk’s social media firm.
Media Issues laid off a number of workers in Might, blaming the “authorized assault” that it says restricted its assets.
What’s subsequent: Media Issues filed a movement to dismiss Musk’s lawsuit in March, however a choose has but to rule.
Gina Carano v. Disney
The problems: Actress Gina Carano is suing Disney after it fired her from “The Mandalorian” after she made posts on X evaluating the remedy of conservatives in America to Jews in Nazi Germany. One submit additionally engaged in Holocaust denial, claiming “1000’s” of Jews have been “rounded up,” somewhat than thousands and thousands. X is funding the lawsuit, and Musk has championed it on the platform.
What is going on on: Musk has promised to again lawsuits supporting individuals who have been fired due to their X posts, and Carano’s is a check case for that challenge, which Musk says is supposed to guard free speech.
The lawsuit, crafted by boutique conservative regulation agency Schaerr Jaffe, focuses on California labor legal guidelines that defend political activism exterior the office.
In July, the choose overseeing the case rejected Disney’s movement to dismiss the lawsuit. Disney argued the corporate has a First Modification proper to not affiliate with Carano’s views, which additionally embody criticism of vaccine mandates and questioning the outcomes of the 2020 election.
What’s subsequent: The lawsuit is now set to maneuver onto the invention section.
Musk v. NLRB
The problems: Musk’s Tesla is preventing a call by the Nationwide Labor Relations Board that the electric-car firm CEO violated labor legal guidelines again in 2018 when he tweeted that Tesla workers may lose their inventory choices in the event that they unionized.
What is going on on: A 3-judge panel of the fifth US Circuit Courtroom of Appeals final yr upheld the NLRB’s discovering that Musk’s tweet unlawfully threatened Tesla workers’ advantages. Musk’s Might 21, 2018 tweet on the middle of the matter learn: “Nothing stopping Tesla staff at our automobile plant from voting union. May accomplish that tmrw in the event that they needed. However why pay union dues & surrender inventory choices for nothing? Our security report is 2X higher than when plant was UAW & all people already will get healthcare.”
Attorneys for Tesla — which argued that Musk’s tweet couldn’t be interpreted as a menace — requested the federal appeals court docket to rethink the ruling. That request was granted.
What’s subsequent: The total fifth Circuit heard oral arguments within the case earlier this yr, and the 17-judge panel has but to situation a ruling.
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Authorities lawsuits and investigations
SEC investigation into Musk’s Twitter takeover
The problems: The Securities and Change Fee is investigating Elon Musk’s Twitter buy.
What is going on on: The SEC and Musk have an extended historical past collectively. In October, the company introduced it had opened an investigation into his $44 billion buy of the social media firm. The SEC hasn’t stated particularly what it is wanting into — solely that the probe issues his buy of Twitter inventory and his 2022 statements and SEC filings referring to his buy.
What’s subsequent: In Might, Musk agreed to testify within the investigation, which stays ongoing.
Tesla Autopilot investigation
The problems: Justice Division prosecutors — in addition to regulators from different federal companies — are wanting into Tesla’s claims of self-driving.
What is going on on: Federal prosecutors are analyzing whether or not Tesla dedicated wire fraud or securities fraud with exaggerated claims of self-driving utilizing the vehicles’ “Autopilot” function. The Securities and Change Fee can be wanting into whether or not traders have been misled by the claims, in line with Reuters. And in a separate probe, the US Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration is wanting into studies of Tesla crashes involving the Autopilot function.
What’s subsequent: Tesla has already issued recollects — which, in its case, simply means a software program replace — so as to add extra safeguards to its Autopilot function. Tesla recollects are basically simply software program updates, and the corporate already issued a recall on 2 million of its automobiles so as to add extra safeguards to its Autopilot function. The NHTSA remains to be wanting into whether or not these updates have been enough.
The corporate additionally lately settled a civil lawsuit over a crash that killed an Apple engineer whereas one in every of its vehicles was in Autopilot mode — one in every of a number of dozen Tesla deaths involving the function.
Tesla steering loss investigation
The problems: The US Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration is investigating 1000’s of complaints that drivers of Tesla’s Mannequin Y and Mannequin 3 automobiles instantly misplaced steering management.
What is going on on: The investigation started in 2023. Earlier this yr, the company superior its investigation and sought extra information from Tesla.
What’s subsequent: The probe’s current improve to the “engineering evaluation” stage suggests the NHTSA could quickly situation a Tesla recall.
NLRB v. SpaceX
The problems: In a grievance earlier this yr, the NLRB accused Musk’s SpaceX of illegally firing eight workers for criticizing Musk in an open letter.
What is going on on: The previous workers alleged that they have been terminated in 2022 over their involvement within the open letter to SpaceX executives that referred to as Musk’s public conduct “a frequent supply of distraction and embarrassment for us.” The NLRB filed its grievance in reference to the matter earlier this yr.
What’s subsequent: In response to the grievance, SpaceX sued the NLRB in federal court docket, alleging that the federal government company’s construction is unconstitutional. An appeals court docket handed Musk a authorized win in Might when it briefly blocked the NLRB’s case in opposition to the rocket firm.
SpaceX lawsuit for not hiring refugees
The problems: The Justice Division’s civil rights division filed a lawsuit alleging SpaceX illegally discriminated in opposition to asylees and refugees by refusing to rent them.
What is going on on: The lawsuit, filed in August, pointed to Elon Musk’s personal social media posts the place he claimed that US regulation requires “a minimum of a inexperienced card” to be employed at SpaceX for nationwide safety causes. That merely is not true, the Justice Division alleged.
As a substitute of suing in a federal district court docket beneath a Senate-confirmed choose, the Justice Division introduced the lawsuit by means of an administrative court docket, the place the judges are appointed by the US Lawyer Common. SpaceX sued in a federal district court docket in Texas over this association, and a choose agreed with the corporate, ruling in November that there have been constitutional issues with the association.
What’s subsequent: The case has been gummed up within the federal district court docket in Texas, because the Justice Division and SpaceX trade volleys over the jurisdiction for various components of the lawsuit. The US Supreme Courtroom has additionally proven a willingness to rethink the constitutionality of administrative regulation judges in numerous companies, and pending choices from the excessive court docket may proceed to change the trajectory of the SpaceX case.
Tesla racism lawsuit
The problems: The US Equal Employment Alternative Fee sued Tesla in September, alleging Black workers at a California manufacturing facility have been subjected to racist harassment.
What is going on on: The federal company’s lawsuit joined dozens of different instances from Tesla staff who’ve stated they skilled racist abuse. One worker, Owen Diaz, gained a serious victory when Tesla was ordered to pay $3.2 million in a racial discrimination case.
What’s subsequent: A federal choose denied a movement to dismiss the EEOC lawsuit in March, placing it on the trail for a trial.
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Private lawsuits in opposition to Musk
Tornetta v. Musk
The problems: Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta sued Musk and Tesla in a category motion lawsuit relating to Musk’s compensation package deal, which was price $55.8 billion on the time.
What is going on on: In 2018, Tesla arrange a pay plan for Musk that concerned a 10-year grant of 12 tranches of inventory choices that might vest when Tesla hit sure targets tied to the automaker’s market worth and income. Musk was in a position to hit all 12 targets in 2023. With every milestone, Musk obtained inventory equal to 1% of excellent shares on the time of the grant.
Tornetta’s lawsuit alleges that the pay package deal was “past the bounds of affordable judgment” and says Musk had influenced the board’s approval of the plan, together with by means of his shut private relationships with board members akin to his brother Kimbal Musk.
Tesla has argued that compensation was wanted to take care of Musk’s consideration, and shareholders have benefited from the influence Musk’s management has had on Tesla’s inventory, which has climbed dramatically since 2018.
The Delaware Courtroom of Chancery struck down Musk’s pay package deal in January. In June, Tesla shareholders voted to approve the package deal.
What’s subsequent: Musk is anticipated to make use of the current shareholder vote to ask the Delaware Chancery Courtroom to rethink its resolution, hoping their approval will assist persuade the choose that the pay package deal is wise. He is additionally prone to proceed interesting the case if he loses.
Boucher v. Musk
The problems: Claire Boucher, AKA Grimes, and Musk have every filed dueling lawsuits in a custody dispute in California and Texas, respectively.
What is going on on: The Musk-Grimes custody battle started in September when the CEO sued his ex-partner to “set up the parent-child relationship” with their three youngsters: X Æ A-XII, Exa Darkish Sideræl, and Techno Mechanicus. In his petition, the billionaire stated he filed the lawsuit after he realized Grimes “was not returning to Texas with their youthful youngsters.” Three-year-old X has remained with Musk.
Just a few weeks later, Grimes sued Musk in San Francisco court docket, looking for major bodily custody and joint authorized custody of the pair’s three youngsters.
What’s subsequent: The case was sealed in January and remained ongoing as of April, when Enterprise Insider was final in a position to view the docket. Neither facet has publicly indicated that the case has been resolved.
Benjamin Brody v. Musk
The problems: California man Benjamin Brody filed a defamation lawsuit in opposition to Musk in Texas final yr, alleging that the billionaire amplified a conspiracy principle that falsely affiliated the school graduate with a neo-Nazi extremist group.
What is going on on: Brody’s lawsuit accuses Musk of boosting the claims on his X social media web site and says Brody endured “extreme private harassment and everlasting injury to his status.” Musk’s “private endorsement of the false accusation in opposition to” Brody reverberated throughout the web, remodeling the accusation from nameless rumor to gospel fact for a lot of people, and inflicting others to make use of Musk’s endorsement to justify their want to harass Ben Brody and his household,” the lawsuit says. In a deposition, Musk stated he did not know who Brody was.
What’s subsequent: Brody’s lawsuit is looking for $1 million in damages and a trial by jury. Musk’s attorneys have filed a movement to dismiss the lawsuit.
Neuralink monkey scratch lawsuit
The problems: Lindsay Quick, a former worker in Musk’s brain-chip-implantation firm Neuralink, alleged in a lawsuit that the corporate fired her after she stated she was pregnant. The swimsuit additionally alleges she was repeatedly scratched by monkeys as a result of the corporate did not present correct protecting gear.
What is going on on: The lawsuit, filed on June 14 in a California court docket, paints a portrait of a office with inadequate protections and harmful circumstances. On one event, the lawsuit alleges, a monkey carrying the Herpes B virus scratched Quick and broke her pores and skin, exposing her to the virus.
What’s subsequent: Neuralink hasn’t but responded to the lawsuit in court docket.
Twitter severance lawsuits
The problems: Tons of of former Twitter workers are suing X for unpaid severance.
What is going on on: When Elon Musk took over Twitter, he shortly fired 1000’s of workers — he claimed over 80% — and did not pay any severance to lots of them. In court docket filings, X claims the merger settlement that allowed Musk to manage Twitter did not require any funds and that the previous workers haven’t any standing to sue as a result of they weren’t a part of the merger.
Even former Twitter executives have sued Musk over severance. Twitter’s former chief accounting officer, Robert Kaiden, alleged that Musk falsely accused him of misconduct so he may fireplace him with out paying out severance. Kaiden stated he is owed $3.75 million in unpaid severance.
There are a number of totally different lawsuits in numerous districts. Musk’s legal professionals efficiently satisfied a choose to toss the most important one, demanding $500 million in damages and sophistication motion certification, in July.
A number of lawsuits additionally allege Musk discriminated in opposition to them due to their race, gender, or incapacity in selecting to fireside them.
What’s subsequent: With the proposed class-action case in California dismissed, every lawsuit will now be selected a piecemeal foundation within the courts. In the meantime, Twitter has thought-about settling a number of the claims.
Agrawal v. Musk
The problems: 4 former Twitter executives (ex-Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, ex-Twitter CFO Ned Segal, ex-head of authorized, coverage, and belief at Twitter Vijaya Gadde, and ex-senior authorized counsel at Twitter Sean Edgett) sued Musk and X in March, alleging the corporate didn’t pay out thousands and thousands of {dollars} in severance.
What is going on on: After Musk took over Twitter in 2023, he terminated the 4 executives inside minutes.
The executives have been set to obtain golden parachutes, however declare Musk and X haven’t paid them out. The group says X collectively owes them $128 million in severance.
Musk has stated he fired the executives for trigger and doesn’t owe them something. In August, Agrawal, Segal, and Gadde individually sued Twitter for over $1 million, alleging the social media firm hadn’t paid the authorized charges they accrued throughout their time at Twitter.
What’s subsequent: The lawsuits are all in numerous phases, with judges having but to rule on motions to dismiss them.
