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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken legal action against Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, to compel his testimony regarding his acquisition of Twitter last year. The SEC alleged that Musk failed to appear for a scheduled testimonial in September, as mandated by a subpoena.
SEC Investigation on Twitter Stock Purchase
The SEC's investigation focuses on the possibility of securities fraud about the purchase of Twitter shares last year, according to Reuters. The agency claims that as Musk bought stock in the company, others may have committed fraud.
In October, Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, in a deal valued at approximately $44 billion.
Invalid Justifications for Non-Compliance
The SEC stated that it made multiple efforts to arrange a meeting with Musk, even offering to meet him at their Fort Worth, Texas office. However, the Tesla CEO reportedly declined, objecting to San Francisco as a suitable location for the testimony.
Lawyers for the SEC contend that Musk's refusal to comply with the subpoena is due to objections they consider spurious, including claims of harassment and potential relevance of information in a newly published biography.
The attorneys representing the SEC dismissed Musk's objections, stating that the publication of his biography is not a legitimate reason to avoid compliance with a lawfully issued subpoena. They emphasized that the SEC's staff is still actively investigating the matter and has not concluded if any federal securities laws have been violated.
"Musk's ongoing refusal to comply with the SEC's administrative subpoena is hindering and delaying the SEC staff's investigation to determine whether violations of the federal securities laws have occurred," the SEC attorneys wrote, according to CNBC.
SEC Schedules Hearing
Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, argues that the SEC has already obtained testimony from Musk multiple times, labeling the investigation as misguided. A hearing regarding the lawsuit has been scheduled for November 9th. The SEC continues its fact-finding investigation while relentlessly pursuing the case against Musk.
Photo: Brett Jordan/Unsplash
