Musk’s Tesla Union Tweet Sets Up Speech Clash at Fifth Circuit

Tesla Inc. will defend company CEO Elon Musk’s tweet about workers losing stock options as a consequence of unionization during oral argument before a full federal appeals court known for its politically conservative rulings.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is set Thursday to reconsider a National Labor Relations Board decision that Musk’s tweet illegally threatened workers with the loss of benefits if they unionized, a conclusion that a three-judge circuit panel upheld last year.

People like Musk are the only ones who can afford to fight the government over a single tweet, but the impact of ...