The SEC has initiated legal action against Elon Musk, accusing the proprietor of X of failing to satisfy a summons for testimony. On Thursday, the SEC's lawsuit outlined that "Musk didn't show up for his testimony on September 15, 2023". This case is linked to the stock dealings that arose out of Musk's purchase of Twitter last year.
On Thursday, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys brought a legal filing in the Northern District of California against Elon Musk for failing to appear for a September 15th investigative testimony, which the attorneys said was served to the Tesla CEO in May of 2023. The SEC is exploring whether any securities fraud occurred as Musk was buying up shares in Twitter last year, which he eventually closed in October in a deal worth roughly $44 billion.
In the complaint, the SEC stated that it tried to accommodate Musk by offering a date and time to meet at the agency's Fort Worth, Texas office, "the closest SEC office to Musk's current personal residence" in the Austin area. The offers were shot down by Musk, with the attorneys noting in the complaint that he raised "several spurious objections, including an objection to San Francisco as an appropriate testimony location." The lawyers also claimed that Musk used the recent publication of his biography as a reason to avoid the testimony, an issue the lawyers said was now "moot" and "legally insufficient from inception."
In response to the complaint, Alex Spiro, Musk's attorney, said that "The SEC has already taken Mr. Musk's testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation—enough is enough." A hearing has been scheduled for November 9th to address the filing.
Take a look at Walter Isaacson's discussion with CNBC about his book "Elon Musk."
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