The SEC said Musk did not appear to testify as requested in a May subpoena.
October 5, 2023, 5:11 p.m. ET
• 3 min reading
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday sought to compel Elon Musk to testify as part of an ongoing investigation into his purchase of Twitter, now known as X.
The SEC said Musk failed to appear for testimony as requested in a May subpoena, despite agreeing to appear at the SEC’s San Francisco office last month.
In this June 16, 2023, file photo, Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, attends a conference in Paris.Gonzalo Fuentes/Portal, FILE
According to regulators, Musk waited until two days before the scheduled meeting to tell the SEC that he would not appear. They are now seeking a court order to force Musk to comply.
Musk acquired the social media site in October 2022 for around $44 billion.
The subpoena for testimony involves an ongoing SEC investigation into “potential violations of various provisions of the federal securities laws” related to Musk’s purchase, as well as statements he made last year and SEC filings related to Twitter, the SEC said in a statement Press release.
“[The] “The SEC is requesting Musk’s testimony to obtain information not already in the SEC’s possession that is relevant to its legitimate and lawful investigation,” the press release said, noting that the SEC’s staff The SEC has not yet found that any person or entity violated federal securities laws.
In response to a Post on X Referring to the SEC’s court order and other government investigations into his companies, Musk said that “a comprehensive overhaul of these agencies is urgently needed, along with a commission that takes punitive action against those individuals who have abused their regulatory powers for personal and political gain.” .”
“I can’t wait for this to happen,” he added.