Elon Musk’s Twitter Acquisition Under SEC’s Investigation

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One of the most shocking news from 2022 was Elon Musk taking over Twitter for $43B. In a recent turn of events, the SEC is now compelling the world’s richest man – Elon Musk, to testify himself, which he has been delaying since the previous month. 

Recap of What Led to This

Since May 2022, the U.S. SEC has been looking into Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, verifying if Musk has abided by all the security laws during this deal. Consequently, a subpoena was issued, and Musk agreed to appear on September 15 to provide testimony at the SEC’s San Francisco office. But two days prior, Musk made “several spurious objections” and informed the SEC he would not be present. 

SEC’s Statement in its Thursday Filing

The SEC reported in its Thursday filing that Musk rejected its suggestions to do the deposition in Texas in November or October. 

The SEC claimed that one of his arguments was that the SEC was attempting to “harass” him and that his attorney wanted time to analyze any possibly pertinent information in a biography of Musk that was released last month. 

The complaint states that Musk furnished the SEC with the investigation materials and testified via video conference in July of last year.

The SEC and Musk have been at odds ever since Musk announced in a 2018 tweet that he was planning to take his electric vehicle company Tesla (TSLA.O) private and had cash lined up. Thursday’s filing marks their most recent exchange. Since then, Musk has criticized the SEC numerous times, leading to the opening of numerous investigations into him over time.

Musk stated in a post on X that “A comprehensive overhaul of these agencies is sorely needed, along with a commission to take punitive action against those individuals who have abused their regulatory power for personal and political gain. Can’t wait for this to happen”.

Former SEC employee and Moses & Singer associate Howard Fischer referred to Musk’s decision to skip the September testimony as remarkable. 

The complaint on Thursday adds to Musk’s legal problems. According to prior reports from Reuters, the Justice Department is looking into Tesla’s self-driving claims. According to a source, federal prosecutors in New York have also started an inquiry into Musk’s corporate benefits and statements about the driving range of his vehicles.