Seriously? There are some folks in the EV community that are indisputably immune from bans due to their contributions and activity in the EV scene - those whom have done such great work that's helped build the industry we have today. In my view, Tony is one of those people.
This is such an absurd thing to have seen happen, that it strikes me as nothing but a glitch... some algorithm gone screwy or some newbie mod saw a link and said "hmm, advertising? ban".
Hopefully this issue shouldn't even be up for debate, and Tony gets unbanned as soon as some admin actually sees this thread.
(also worth noting, the ban system in web-based forums like these has been stale and dysfunctional for over a decade... it's great to keep spammers at bay, but not a functional system for behavioral bans to real human beings. But maybe that's a discussion for another day...)