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Tesla’s Elon Musk cites popular Eminem rap song in latest response to SEC

Credit: Wall Street Journal/YouTube

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s legal skirmish with the US Securities and Exchange Commission continues, with the executive invoking popular rapper Eminem in a filing submitted to a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. Musk is currently looking to throw out his 2018 agreement with the SEC, which requires him to get pre-approval for tweets that are of material importance to Tesla. 

The recent filing revealed Musk’s renewed efforts at preventing an SEC subpoena for details about whether the CEO and Tesla have been complying with their 2018 consent decree with the agency, especially when he polled his Twitter followers if he should sell TSLA stock last year. While arguing his points, Musk noted in his recent filing that requiring Tesla lawyers to screen his tweets is unconstitutional and a restraint on his free speech. Musk claimed that this violated his First Amendment rights. 

“The First Amendment requires that agencies proceed with caution when constitutional rights are at stake, not seek to pursue any and all novel theories that broaden their authority at the cost of individual freedom. Compare Eminem, ‘Without Me’ (2002) (‘The [SEC] won’t let me be or let me be me so let me see / They tried to shut me down . . .’) with Citadel Broad. Co., Mem. Op. and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 483 (2002) (rescinding penalty against radio station for playing Eminem song and noting ‘the First Amendment is a critical constitutional limitation that demands we proceed cautiously and with appropriate restraint’),” Musk’s new filing noted. 

For some context, Eminem’s lyrics referenced the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which fined radio stations for playing one of his popular songs, “The Real Slim Shady,” which featured themes and lyrics that the FCC considered offensive. The SEC, for its part, has declined to comment on Musk’s recent filing, though considering their ongoing legal skirmish, it would not be surprising if the agency files a response against the CEO in the near future. 

Apart from referencing the popular rapper, Musk also argued that the SEC had issued its subpoena in bad faith. The CEO also dubbed the agency’s efforts as a “fishing expedition” of sorts that is aimed at harassing him. “The Formal Order is not an open invitation for any fishing expedition the Commission may wish to pursue, and the Commission errs in assuming that a court may not look behind its veil. To that end, the SEC twice denies that ‘its subpoenas are issued under the consent decree,’ instead stating unequivocally ‘the subpoenas were issued under the authority granted by the Formal Order of Investigation,’” Musk’s filing noted. 

Musk and the SEC’s agreement was the result of the CEO’s “funding secured” fiasco in 2018. During the time, Musk attempted to take Tesla private, and he announced on Twitter that funding had been secured for the deal. The SEC accused Musk of fraud over his alleged false and misleading statements. In the end, Musk had to step down as Tesla’s Chairman, and he and Tesla paid a $20 million fine each. Musk did, however, not admit that he misled investors with his “funding secured” announcement. 

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Musk’s recent filing can be accessed below. 

gov.uscourts.nysd.501755.80.0 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk says Tesla Cybercab future is ‘obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain’

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Elon Musk said the Tesla Cybercab will perform “a majority of all passenger miles” where it is allowed to operate and that point is “obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.”

Musk used the point to double down on the company’s decision to ax the cult-favorite Cybertruck, as its production space will be removed and transitioned into additional Cybercab lines. The move has catalyzed a polarizing conversation on whether its right or wrong.

Whatever side you are on — it’s happening.

Regardless, Musk seems to be getting to the point that he is done talking about the choice. At some point, you have to think that this was truly a difficult decision for him and the company as well, and this is not something he took lightly. In fact, he’s probably a little bit disappointed with it, too.

But the point remains that the Cybertruck is gone. Musk’s focus is purely on developing an autonomous platform that the world will utilize for transportation, and he’s telling you that anyone “with eyes and a brain” can see it:

Tesla is betting that all of its passengers in the future will be okay with not owning their own personal cars and will be fine with ride-hailing for the rest of their lives. Every dinner, every errand, every trip to the airport and transportation thereafter, will all be operated by ride-sharing, and in Tesla’s perfect world, it will happen in a Cybercab.

As of now, Cybercab is only active in Austin, but it has been spotted all over the country with a driver behind the wheel in those prototypes. In Austin, the car has no steering wheel or pedals for people to control the vehicle.

The Cybertruck dilemma is one that has truly come across the entire Tesla community and while it seems to be a great idea to keep it because people love it, the business side of things is steering Musk and Tesla in another direction.

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Tesla slims Cybertruck offerings to only its most expensive trim

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Credit: u/dregonzz/Reddit

Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.

After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.

Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.

Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.

Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.

Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”

Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.

Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.

Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing

Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.

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Tesla exec hints at a wild fix for Robotaxi’s biggest weather problem

Tesla VP Lars Moravy says focused lasers could keep robotaxi cameras clear instead of wipers.

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Tesla Cybercab in a rainy Austin, Texas rendering

Tesla may one day use lasers instead of wiper blades to keep its robotaxi cameras clear. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, floated the idea in a new episode of Jay Leno’s Garage released Monday, where he and design chief Franz von Holzhausen walked Leno through the Model Y L.

“If you fire them in a focused area, you can clean the sheet of water and create a barrier,” Moravy said. “When you think about autonomy, it might be a good solution to only clean the area where the camera is.” He added that clearing an entire windshield would take too many lasers to be practical.

The comment brings back one of Tesla’s stranger patents. The company filed for “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” in May 2019, and the U.S. Patent Office granted it in September 2021. An updated divisional version was granted on March 31, 2026. The system detects debris on the glass, identifies what it is, and pulses the laser at a calibrated rate so the beam never penetrates deeper than the glass itself. The filing names windshields, side windows, camera lenses and solar panels as possible targets.

Lasers were once rumored for the Cybertruck, which appeared at its November 2019 unveiling with no wipers at all. Tesla eventually settled on a single oversized blade, and Elon Musk admitted the wiper was the part of the truck that troubled him the most. That production line is now scheduled to shut down around mid 2027 to make room for more Cybercab output.

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What has changed since then is who is in the vehicle. A privately owned car has a driver who can notice a smeared windshield and do something about it. A Cybercab heading to its next pickup has nobody on board to check. Tesla has been chipping away at that problem with conventional hardware. Model Y Robotaxis in Austin were spotted with washers on their side repeater cameras in January, and a lens cleaning patent granted in May describes a fluid and wiper assembly for vehicle cameras and Optimus’ eyes. A laser would remove the fluid and the blades, both of which need regular replacement across a fleet.

The same episode gave Leno his first ride on Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The Model Y L pulled over on its own when an ambulance approached with its sirens on. “We got it on self-driving mode! I’m not touching anything,” Leno said. Moravy and von Holzhausen also explained that owners remain responsible while using FSD (Supervised), while Tesla takes responsibility for Robotaxi rides because it acts as the operator. Tesla launched the Model Y L in the U.S. in July at $61,990.

Moravy gave no timeline, and he described the laser setup as something Tesla is considering rather than a confirmed feature. The fleet it would serve keeps getting bigger, though. Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio on Monday, its eighth city, and expanded its Austin service area to roughly 443 square miles on the same day. Several of those markets, including Houston, Miami and Tampa, see heavy seasonal rain.

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