It’s nice to see a fundamental right, one recognized in the Constitution, upheld. In New Orleans, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals slapped down the National Labor Relations Board on Friday, ordering that they rescind an order to Elon Musk that compelled him to delete a 2018 Twitter post regarding the possible unionization of Tesla.
A divided U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that the National Labor Relations Board went too far by ordering Tesla CEO Elon Musk to delete a 2018 tweet stating employees of the electric vehicle maker would lose stock options if they unionized.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 9-8 vote threw out an NLRB order from 2021 that had concluded the tweet amounted to an unlawful threat after the court concluded the tweet amounted to free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
“Deleting the speech of private citizens on topics of public concern is not a remedy traditionally countenanced by American law,” the court held in an unsigned opinion joined by eight of the nine judges in the majority.
The order, then, is a violation of Musk’s rights under the First Amendment. Elon Musk’s ownership of Tesla, we are relieved to note, does not remove his rights under the First Amendment, at least not in the eyes of the 5th Court of Appeals.
This seems, at least to this non-attorney, to be a no-brainer; the First Amendment does not note any exceptions for business owners, and Musk appeared to be noting that most automobile manufacturers do not include stock options as part of the rank-and-file employee compensation. In fact, in the decision, it is noted:
Musk further stated that “UAW does not have individual stockownership as part of the compensation at any other company,” and as such,Tesla employees would lose stock options if they unionized because of UAW’s policy. ROA.4539.
The court also weighed in on a termination at Tesla.
That finding was enough to warrant overturning the NLRB’s 2021 decision, according to those judges, who were all appointed by Republican presidents. As a result meant, it did not decide whether the tweet itself violated the National Labor Relations Act.
The court also directed the NLRB to reconsider its decision ordering Tesla to reinstate a pro-union employee who was fired. U.S. Circuit Judge James Dennis, in a dissenting opinion joined by seven other judges, including all of the court’s Democratic appointees, called the ruling “light on law and facts.”
The complete finding by the 5th Circuit may be viewed here.
This is why we have courts. And a win for free speech is always a good thing.
See Related: Tesla Stock Taking a Beating As Electric Vehicle Demand Plummets
Tesla’s ‘We, Robot’ Event Just Moved the Distant Future a Decade Away
Tesla is, as of this writing, still non-union. Presumably, Tesla employees are still receiving stock options.
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