The SEC is investigating whether Musk broke any laws when he submitted the necessary documentation regarding his acquisitions of Twitter stock and whether his claims regarding the transaction were deceptive.
A federal judge mandated that Elon Musk reappear in court as part of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. The billionaire and the agency have one week to work out a time and place for the interview.
US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler formalized her provisional decision, siding with the regulator, through her order released on Saturday night.
In October, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Musk, requesting that the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX appear in court as part of an inquiry into his acquisition of Twitter in 2022—the social media behemoth that he later rebranded as X. The SEC alleged that Musk declined to appear during a September investigation interview.
The investigation is looking into whether Musk broke any laws when he filed the necessary documents for his buying of Twitter stock, as well as whether he made any false representations about the transaction.
Musk resisted the SEC’s request for an interview, claiming that the agency had previously spoken to him twice and charging harassment against the agency.
Beeler brushed the argument aside. She stated in her opinion that the SEC had the right to issue the subpoena, which requested pertinent information.
Beeler stated that she will hear from all sides and make a decision if the SEC and Musk are unable to reach a consensus on a time and date for the interview.
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Musk in 2018 after he tweeted, “funding secured,” implying a possible plan to take Tesla private. This sparked tension between the two agencies. Musk agreed to have a Tesla attorney review his tweets criticizing the electric vehicle manufacturer in order to resolve the issue. The SEC sued him once more in 2019, alleging that he broke that clause.
Musk claims that the arrangement infringes on his constitutional right to free expression and has requested that the US Supreme Court examine it.