Billionaire Elon Musk is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over his US$44 billion takeoverof social media giant Twitter, according to a Thursday (Oct 5) court filing in which the agency sought to compel Musk to testify. The investigation concerns whether Musk broke federal se
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, gestures as he attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023.
The SEC said it subpoenaed Musk in May 2023 requiring him to provide testimony at the SEC’s San Francisco office, and that Musk had agreed to appear last month. But then two days beforehand Musk raised"several spurious objections" and told the SEC he would not appear, the SEC said. Musk also refused to SEC proposals to conduct the deposition in Texas in October or November.
"The SEC has already taken Mr. Musk's testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation - enough is enough," said a statement from Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk.Musk acquired Twitter after initially building a large minority stake in the social media platform, which he first disclosed in April 2022. Musk was late with the filing and initially indicated that he planned to be a passive stakeholder.
Faced with a trial that sought to compel him to complete the deal, Musk closed his acquisition of Twitter in late October 2022.