Elon Musk Ordered to Testify in SEC Probe Over Twitter Acquisition
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been ordered by a U.S. judge to testify in an investigation conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X. The court filing, released on Saturday, outlines the SEC's interest in determining whether Musk or any associated parties engaged in securities fraud during the initial stages of purchasing Twitter stock and prior to the leveraged buyout of the social media platform.
Musk's takeover of Twitter in October 2022, a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion, has since been under scrutiny by the SEC. The probe aims to uncover any potential violations of securities law during the acquisition process. In her ruling dated February 10, 2024, Federal Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler stated that despite Musk's claims of harassment by the SEC's subpoena, the commission is acting within its jurisdiction. The order emphasizes that the subpoena is seeking pertinent information for the ongoing investigation.
The SEC and Musk are now given a one-week deadline to agree upon a date and location for his testimony. Responses from Musk, his attorney Alex Spiro, and the SEC regarding the court's decision were pending at the time of reporting.
Musk's history of challenging federal regulatory bodies is notable. Among his actions, Musk has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate a previous settlement with the SEC, which required Musk's tweets concerning Tesla to be pre-approved due to concerns over market manipulation. Musk's legal team has argued that this agreement infringes upon his constitutional right to free speech.
Additionally, Musk's SpaceX has initiated legal action against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) following a complaint from the agency alleging wrongful termination of employees. The employees in question had signed an open letter criticizing Musk's public behavior, which they claimed was a source of distraction and embarrassment. SpaceX's lawsuit contends that the structure of the NLRB itself violates the U.S. Constitution, drawing parallels to a similar case brought by a former Starbucks employee.
This series of legal challenges underscores the ongoing tension between Musk's business operations and federal oversight, with the latest SEC probe into the Twitter acquisition marking another chapter in Musk's contentious relationship with regulatory agencies.
