The Wall Street Journal reported today that Elon Musk didn’t show up for court in September to provide testimony about his Twitter takeover, and the SEC is suing him.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter stock. This has been an ongoing probe into Musk since May 2022, when the commission looked into his disclosure of statements about his stake in Twitter.
Musk is admittedly tired of the whole issue and responded on X. “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,” he said. “Can’t wait for this to happen.”
Alex Spiro, the lawyer who has represented Musk, said that the SEC has taken Mr. Musk’s testimony multiple times in their “misguided investigation,” adding, “Enough is enough.”
Musk says the SEC is merely harassing him
The SEC said that “Musk appeared for two separate half-day sessions of testimony by video conference in July 2022 but hasn’t returned since.” Musk replied that he was objecting “because the Commission is using its subpoena power to harass him.”
Investors must report publicly when their public company ownership exceeds 5%. The disclosure is an early sign to shareholders and companies that a significant investor could seek to control or influence a company.
Apparently, in April, Musk disclosed his Twitter stock, claiming to be a passive shareholder – saying that he was not planning to take over the company nor to have any influence over its management. The very next day (April 5, 2023), The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk submitted another form offering to join the Twitter board of directors – and one week later — Musk proposed to buy Twitter (now X) for $ 44 billion, and the deal closed in October 2022.
It is said that Elon Musk doesn’t cooperate reasonably with the SEC and that the SEC is unhappy with the long history of not complying when under investigation.
Whatever the truth of this matter is, Elon Musk and his many holdings will likely cause some additional areas for SEC investigations.
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