The US Sec urities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday its plan to pursue sanctions against Elon Musk after he failed to appear for court-ordered testimony regarding his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter .
In a court filing in San Francisco, the SEC stated that it would seek an order to determine why Musk should not be held in civil contempt for notifying the agency only three hours before his scheduled testimony on September 10 that he would not attend.
On that day, Musk was in Florida overseeing SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission. The SEC noted that, as the company's chief technical officer, he was likely aware of the launch plans two days prior and argued that his actions breached a court order requiring his testimony.
SEC attorney Robin Andrews criticized Musk's explanation, suggesting it demonstrated a lack of seriousness and called for the court to put an end to his alleged delay tactics.
Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that the proposed sanctions were excessive and claimed that Musk's absence was due to an unavoidable "emergency" that he did not cause. He stated that Musk's testimony has been rescheduled for October 3 and expressed confidence that no similar issues would arise again.
The SEC's investigation focuses on whether Musk violated securities laws during his purchase of Twitter shares in early 2022. Critics, including Twitter shareholders, have accused him of delaying the required disclosure of his stock purchases.
Musk disclosed a 9.2% ownership stake in Twitter after failing to report his holdings upon surpassing the 5% threshold. In July, he acknowledged a misunderstanding of SEC disclosure rules, suggesting that any delays were unintentional.
The SEC previously filed a lawsuit against Musk last October after he missed a scheduled interview at its San Francisco office. Musk has frequently accused the SEC of harassment, stemming from a 2018 lawsuit over his tweets regarding taking Tesla private, which resulted in a $20 million settlement and new oversight on his public statements.
In a court filing in San Francisco, the SEC stated that it would seek an order to determine why Musk should not be held in civil contempt for notifying the agency only three hours before his scheduled testimony on September 10 that he would not attend.
On that day, Musk was in Florida overseeing SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission. The SEC noted that, as the company's chief technical officer, he was likely aware of the launch plans two days prior and argued that his actions breached a court order requiring his testimony.
SEC attorney Robin Andrews criticized Musk's explanation, suggesting it demonstrated a lack of seriousness and called for the court to put an end to his alleged delay tactics.
Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that the proposed sanctions were excessive and claimed that Musk's absence was due to an unavoidable "emergency" that he did not cause. He stated that Musk's testimony has been rescheduled for October 3 and expressed confidence that no similar issues would arise again.
The SEC's investigation focuses on whether Musk violated securities laws during his purchase of Twitter shares in early 2022. Critics, including Twitter shareholders, have accused him of delaying the required disclosure of his stock purchases.
Musk disclosed a 9.2% ownership stake in Twitter after failing to report his holdings upon surpassing the 5% threshold. In July, he acknowledged a misunderstanding of SEC disclosure rules, suggesting that any delays were unintentional.
The SEC previously filed a lawsuit against Musk last October after he missed a scheduled interview at its San Francisco office. Musk has frequently accused the SEC of harassment, stemming from a 2018 lawsuit over his tweets regarding taking Tesla private, which resulted in a $20 million settlement and new oversight on his public statements.
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