SEC probes Elon Musk's Twitter takeover
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, according to a court document filed Thursday that seeks Musk’s testimony on the matter.
The probe concerns whether Musk broke federal securities laws by acquiring Twitter stock in 2022, in addition to statements and regulatory filings he made relative to the deal. Musk, the world’s richest man, led a group of investors who acquired the social media giant for $44 billion in late 2022. Musk has since changed the name of Twitter to X.
The SEC said it subpoenaed Musk in May 2023 to compel his testimony at the financial regulator’s office in San Francisco and that he agreed to appear on Sept. 15. However, two days beforehand, Musk raised "several spurious objections" and told the SEC he wouldn’t appear, the agency said.
The SEC said Musk also refused the agency’s requests to conduct a deposition in Texas in October or November.
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According to the SEC’s court filing, Musk objected on the grounds that the SEC was trying to "harass" him and that his legal counsel needed additional time to review relevant material contained in a biography of the tech titan published last month.
Musk has given the SEC documents related to the probe and provided testimony in July 2022 in a video conference, the SEC said.
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"The SEC has already taken Mr. Musk’s testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation — enough is enough," Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, said in a statement reported by Reuters.
The SEC said in a release it’s seeking "Musk’s testimony to obtain information not already in the SEC’s possession that is relevant to its legitimate and lawful investigation."
Musk’s takeover of Twitter began slowly, with the billionaire acquiring a large minority stake in the company that he first disclosed in April 2022. Musk was late in filing the regulatory disclosure about his investment and initially indicated he intended to be a passive stakeholder and had no intentions of taking over the platform or influencing its decisions.
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Days after the disclosure, Musk accepted, then turned down, a board seat at the social media company. In late April, Musk announced plans to buy the company for $44 billion but later tried to get out of the deal, alleging Twitter failed to disclose the extent of bot activity on the platform.
That set in motion a legal battle that sought to force Musk to complete his acquisition, which he eventually did in late October 2022.
Reuters contributed to this report.