Elon Musk for Missing Testimony in Twitter/X
Elon Musk, CEO of multiple companies featuring the letter “X,” is under regulatory scrutiny for failing to attend a court-ordered testimony. This investigation is tied to his acquisition of Twitter, a move that continues to attract legal attention.
In a recent filing, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed plans to pursue sanctions against Musk after he skipped a mandatory appearance in Los Angeles on September 10, 2023. According to the SEC, Musk notified them of his absence only three hours before his scheduled testimony.
The SEC’s filing expressed concern over Musk’s delay tactics, stating, “The Court must make clear that Musk’s gamesmanship and delay tactics must cease.”
Instead of appearing in court, Musk was reportedly overseeing the launch of Polaris Dawn, a spacecraft developed by SpaceX, his space exploration company. The SEC offered to reschedule the testimony to the following day, September 11, but Musk’s legal team refused, proposing only dates in October.
Should Musk fail to appear for the rescheduled hearing, the SEC is seeking “meaningful conditional relief.” This could include penalties and reimbursement of the SEC’s travel expenses incurred for the canceled testimony. The agency reported spending “thousands of dollars” to send three attorneys to Los Angeles for the September 10 hearing.
The court appearance is linked to an ongoing SEC probe investigating whether Musk adhered to legal requirements when purchasing Twitter stock ahead of his $44 billion takeover in 2022. The agency is also examining whether Musk’s public statements about the acquisition were misleading. The SEC contends that Musk delayed disclosing his stock purchases by at least 10 days.
This is not the first time Musk has faced legal action from the SEC. In 2018, Musk was fined $40 million and forced to step down as Tesla’s chairman following allegations of misleading tweets about Tesla’s stock value. Musk referred to those charges as “unjustified.”
In addition, the SEC has launched investigations into other aspects of Musk’s activities, including claims regarding Tesla’s “full self-driving” technology and the company’s use of funds to construct a “glass house” for Musk.
Key Takeaways:
- Elon Musk’s Legal Battle: Musk missed a court-ordered testimony on September 10, triggering an SEC response.
- Twitter Acquisition Probe: The investigation focuses on Musk’s stock purchases and public statements prior to his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.
- Possible Sanctions: The SEC seeks to impose penalties and recoup travel costs for the missed hearing.
This investigation highlights Musk’s ongoing legal challenges with regulatory authorities. For more details, you can view the full SEC filing below.
Updated Note:
Correction made on 9/20 at 5:48 p.m. Pacific: Initially, we reported that the court appearance was set in San Francisco. It was, in fact, scheduled in Los Angeles. We apologize for the oversight.
Information from TechCrunch
