SEC Seeks Sanctions Against Elon Musk Over Missed Testimony in Twitter Takeover Probe

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking sanctions against Elon Musk after he failed to appear for scheduled testimony related to its investigation into his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, now known as X. The SEC filed the request in court on Friday, citing Musk’s absence from a deposition originally set for September 10.

The probe, which began earlier this year, is examining whether Musk adhered to legal requirements when disclosing his Twitter stock purchases and if any of his statements regarding the deal were misleading. Despite agreeing to testify in September, Musk’s attorney notified the SEC just three hours before the scheduled deposition that he had to travel to the East Coast for SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, leaving the testimony unfulfilled.

The SEC expressed frustration in its court filing, claiming Musk failed to follow a court order that required him to obtain written consent from the agency or the court before altering the testimony date. The SEC’s filing also noted that SpaceX had already announced the mission two days prior to the testimony, suggesting Musk was aware of the schedule conflict well in advance.

In response, Musk’s lawyers stated that both parties had agreed to reschedule the testimony for early October and argued that further court intervention was unnecessary.

This incident is the latest in a series of disputes between Musk and the SEC, following their 2018 legal battle over Musk’s controversial “funding secured” tweet about taking Tesla private. The SEC now seeks sanctions and reimbursement for travel costs incurred by the cancelled testimony.