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Elon Musk just got hit again with a lawsuit from Uncle Sam, who's pissed about the tweet he fired off about Tesla last month ... and if the government gets its way it could cost Musk his job.

The Securities Exchange Commission is suing Tesla's CEO, claiming he misled investors after he tweeted in August ... "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." The SEC's lawsuit includes several other tweets, such as ... "My hope is *all* current investors remain with Tesla even if we're private. Would create special purpose fund enabling anyone to stay with Tesla."

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Musk recklessly posted the tweets because he'd only had preliminary conversations about the possibility of going public, and did not consult with his board of directors about tweeting it. As a result, the SEC contends the information was misleading to investors who may have reacted.

The federal agency says his tweets caused significant confusion and disruption in the market for Tesla's stock, and ended up hurting investors' wallets.

The SEC's going for Elon's throat ... because they want to "prohibit him from acting as an officer or director" of any public company. The agency also wants a court to prevent him from further misleading tweets and to force him to pay back any profits he might've made as a result.

We promise ... this is actually Tom Hanks and not an old pic of the real Mr. Rogers, but the transformation is pretty uncanny.

Sony Pictures released the first image of Hanks Thursday in full sweater mode as Mr. Rogers ... sitting outside of what appears to be his trailer on a studio lot. The caption read ... "Tom Hanks is Mister Rogers, coming to a neighborhood near you October 2019."

Hanks' casting as Rogers for the film "You Are My Friend" was announced earlier this year to much applause. The dude really does look like Fred Rogers, even without the familiar getup and makeup job.

He also seems to have lost a significant amount of weight for the role ... maybe the skinniest he's been since "Cast Away?" Which reminds us ... RIP Wilson.

As we reported ... Mr. Rogers' youngest son, John, told us his late father was a big fan of Hanks, especially when it came to his iconic turn in "Forrest Gump." Apparently, Fred had seen the flick quite a few times.

John supports Sony's casting and said he'd be open to consulting with the actor on how best to play the role. No word on whether that's happened yet, but it's clear Hanks is ready to fill the kind man's big shoes ... neighbor.

Bill Cosby's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame isn't going away despite his sexual assault conviction ... but that doesn't mean it's safe from vandals.

Somebody took what looks like a permanent marker to add their own branding to the disgraced comedian's star -- adding the words "SERIAL RAPIST." and "#METOO."

As we reported ... the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce says Cosby's star will stay put on the famous Walk of Fame ... even after he was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison and deemed a "sexually violent predator."

His star had already been defaced once earlier this week with the words "SERIAL RAPIST" ... but it was quickly removed. It's unclear how long the latest graffiti will remain.

Post Malone's catching his breath after racing to the studio to collaborate on a track that'll be added to Lil Wayne's forever-anticipated "Tha Carter V" album.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Weezy reached out to the "Rockstar" rapper earlier this week and, at the 11th hour, asked him to be a featured rapper. We're told Post Malone said -- not in so many words -- "DUH!!" and raced to the studio to get it done. He's a huge Lil Wayne fan, obvi.

We're told Post Malone finished his part Wednesday night and the track is being mixed just in time for Wayne's long-awaited album release ... slated to drop at 9 PM PT Thursday.

Our sources say the track featuring Post will be the last one added to the album, which was, as you well know by now, held hostage for years.

As we reported ... the entire world saw Sept. 21 come and go without 'Carter V' dropping, and sources close to Weezy's camp told us that date was news to them since Weezy never once said he was dropping the album on that day. It was pure speculation from fans that triggered different theories.

Wayne set the record straight with a countdown on his website pointing to the final release date. The clock's literally ticking ... just in the nick of time for Post Malone.

Shawn Mendes is the master of the celeb selfie ... 'cause he's figured out the fastest way to satisfy his fans and move on with his day.

As Shawn is being faced with an endless crowd of fans clamoring for a selfie, he takes the reins and works his way through the line with impressive efficiency.

It's clear his fans know the drill ... they were already lined up in an orderly fashion even before he arrived.

No waiting for fans fumbling with their phones and struggling to find the right angles. Shawn is grabbing phones and banging out pics like he's on an assembly line. Can't wait all day, dude's got places to be.

Point, smile, click, repeat. Shawn is a textbook example for celebs dealing with selfie-starved fans.

Speaking of textbooks ... Shawn says we need to get more in the hands of young girls, and he's interested in working with Justin Trudeau to #LeaveNoGirlBehind as he jets off to NYC for this weekend's Global Citizen Festival.

One of the stars of 'Real Housewives of Potomac' has been criminally charged with sexual assault for grabbing the butt of a crew member.

Michael Darby -- the husband of Ashley Darby -- allegedly grabbed and groped the butt of a cameraman who was filming an episode of the show.

The cameraman -- Orville Palmer -- claims after the grope he turned around and Darby gave him "a flirtatious look." Orville says he instructed Darby to stop, and then told his supervisor.

Darby has been charged with felony assault as well as misdemeanor improper sexual contact.

Palmer says the incident occurred Sept. 1.

The maximum punishment is 11 years in prison.

Kobe Bryant sprang into action Thursday after witnessing a car crash in Newport Beach -- helping out one of the drivers after a Tesla got hit outside his local Starbucks.

The retired NBA superstar was driving through the area in his blacked-out Range Rover when he saw a car run a red light and slam into the Tesla. Kobe stopped to make sure the driver was okay.

A rep for Bryant tells us ... the Tesla driver told Kobe his phone was damaged in the wreck, so the Lakers legend offered to take pics on his cell instead.

You can see Kobe snapping away in pics obtained by TMZ Sports.

The good news ... we're told no one suffered any serious injuries in the crash. Cops responded to check in on the situation but no arrests were made.

Remember, Kobe's buddy Shaquille O'Neal did a similar thing back in April -- hopping out of his ride to tend to a crash he witnessed in L.A.

See, these guys have more in common than ya thought ...

9:55 AM PT -- Kanye just explained to the group he's redesigned the MAGA hat ... changing the brim and the shape of the front of it. He also says he's put "positive energy" in the hat.

Can you support both Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick at the same time?

Kanye West believes you can ...

The rapper rolled over to the offices of The Fader on Thursday in Trump's "Make America Great Again" hat ... while wearing a sweatshirt with Kaep's name spelled out across the chest.

Is he making a point about how he can see both sides? Is he just out of clean laundry?

Remember, Trump famously referred to Colin as a "son of a bitch" and called for NFL owners to fire all players who didn't stand for the national anthem.

But, Ye applauded Nike for signing Kaep to a deal recently -- saying, "I stand for giving everyone a voice."

He added, "Adidas giving me a voice and Nike giving Colin voice on a big business level makes the world a more advanced place."

Macaulay Culkin wants to make another big splash in Hollywood -- and he's shamelessly, and publicly, lobbying J.K. Rowling to help him do it.

The 38-year-old 'Home Alone' star tweeted the 'Harry Potter' author asking her to write him a role in the next movie in the 'Fantastic Beasts' series -- which is a prequel to the 'Potter' stories.

Macaulay's Hollywood game is still strong ... he starts with a suck-up of sorts, letting J.K. know he supports her casting an Asian woman to play Nagini ... Voldemort's snakey sidekick -- a move that's drawn criticism from some. Then he goes for the kill ... "Also, can you write me into the next movie? I'm Macaulay Culkin (From Home Alone: The Movie) and I was also a Pagemaster (experience in magic) ..."

J.K. has yet to respond, but Macaulay is not sitting around waiting. He's proactively also reached out to Dan Fogler, who plays Jacob Kowalski in the 'FB' series.

Eric Reid -- who filed a collusion grievance against the NFL -- has just signed a 1-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, the team announced.

Reid was widely considered one of the best free agent safeties on the market -- but he believed he was being blackballed, like Colin Kaepernick, for taking a knee during the national anthem at NFL games.

Eric and Colin were teammates on the 49ers. They're still good friends and are using the same lawyers -- Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas -- to go after the NFL for collusion.

Reid is a former Pro Bowl safety who racked up 67 tackles and 2 interceptions last season -- and many believe he should have easily gotten a roster spot in 2018 based on his talent.

Reid, 6'1" and 215 pounds, played the first five seasons of his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers after being selected by the team in the first round (18th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.

“Eric has been a starting safety in the NFL and has played at a high level throughout his career," Panthers GM Marty Hurney said.

"After we put (safety) Da’Norris Searcy on injured reserve, Ron (Rivera) and I discussed our options, and Eric was at the top of our list. He is a physical safety with good ball skills and play-making ability."

Reid is already at the team facility.

Story developing ...

Sorry, Val Kilmer ... this town ain't big enough for 2 tumbleweed sculptors ... according to the artist who's suing the actor for copycatting his artwork.

The artist, Bale Creek Allen, thinks Val is smoking some serious tumbleweed if he believes he came up with the inspiration for his $150,000 "Tumbleweed" piece by himself. In his lawsuit, Bale says Val is passing off the high-priced art as his own idea, when it's clearly Bale's inspiration and idea.

Bale says he's been creating and selling golden tumbleweed sculptures for years ... and Val cut in on his action AFTER visiting Bale's New Mexico gallery and asking loads of questions about his methods.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Val was super interested in Bale's 3-D tumbleweeds ... until it was time to buy, and that's when Val told him he couldn't afford one!

Bale claims he has a copyright for the tumbleweed sculptures, and he never gave Val permission to make replicas. He's suing for damages and wants Val to be barred from whipping up anymore tumbleweeds.

Nelly has mutually settled with the woman who claimed he raped her on a tour bus ... TMZ has learned.

The woman, Monique Greene, claimed last October she was at a club in Seattle where Nelly had performed. She says after the show she was drinking and hanging out with Nelly, who invited her on his tour bus.

She claims once on the bus he assaulted her and had both oral and vaginal sex against her will.

Afterward, Greene says she screamed she wanted off the bus and she was thrown off as Nelly threw a $100 bill at her and said, "Bye Bye."

Nelly countersued, claiming the sex was consensual and she defamed him.

We broke the story ... Nelly was arrested for rape while on tour with Florida Georgia Line. Prosecutors dropped the case after Greene refused to cooperate.

A lawyer for Nelly says both parties agreed to dismiss their cases and no money changed hands.

The United States paid millions to host the United Nations' General Assembly this year ... ironic since President Trump became the butt of the meeting's biggest joke.

We obtained federal docs outlining costs associated with the Lotte Hotel in NYC -- where a number of U.S. funded events went down -- and the total cost approaches $2.5 MILLION.

The breakdown includes hotel rooms and related expenses, venue spaces and related costs, such as furniture, food and beverages.

The Lotte was host to a reception by Melania, and President Trump held meetings there with South Korean President Moon Jae-In, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe.

As we reported ... the assembly burst into laughter when Trump quipped, "In less than 2 years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country."

The U.N. Headquarters -- located about a mile away from The Lotte -- also had expenses covered by the U.S. ... notably $54,000 for outdoor tents.

Slick Woods pulled the biggest shocker of NY Fashion Week -- besides Cardi B and Nicki Minaj -- when she went into labor at Rihanna's show, and 2 weeks later ... she's ready to hit the catwalk again!

The model is flaunting her post-baby bod, and you can totally see why. The baby bump's in her rearview, and her abs are fully toned.

Checking out Slick now, it's crazy to think back on how she looked walking the runway at the Savage X Fenty show 2 weeks ago ... when she went into labor backstage!

The 22-year-old has seen her star rise since her surprise delivery, and we think Slick could rock the runway right now.

When in France, right?

Michael Jordan proved he's too classy to drink beer with the normies at major sporting events -- instead, he sips from his own bottle of fancy wine.

MJ was in the VIP suites at the Paris Saint-Germain vs. Reims game in Paris on Wednesday -- where he watched Neymar dominate in a 4-1 victory at Parc des Princes stadium.

He also apparently brought in his own bottle of red. Guessing they waived the corkage fee.

Jordan was treated like the legend he is during the game -- since PSG recently teamed up with Jordan Brand for a collaborative range of threads. The team prez even presented MJ with his own custom #23 jersey.

Jordan took in the game with his pal, Ahmad Rashad -- no word if he let the ex-football player dip into his wine.

No word on what brand Jordan was drinking -- but the guy's a billionaire so you know he ain't sippin' the cheap stuff.

Britney Spears' hunk of man is happy to open up about their gym life, and even her music -- but you gotta see what happens when the big "M" comes up..

We got Sam Asghari leaving Bristol Farms Wednesday in Westwood, where our photog first asked who was in better shape between him and his gal. His answer might surprise you, and so might his favorite Brit workout song.

Then it got really interesting -- as Sam slid into his convertible Mercedes, we asked if he plans on proposing anytime soon, and he answered directly. If nothing else, you can tell he's prepared for the question. He should be ... they've been dating for nearly 2 years.

One other thing ... the topic of Britney reportedly agreeing to pay K-Fed thousands more per month in child support -- after a nasty court battle -- is clearly Sam's kryptonite.