Elon Musk is facing a demand from the Securities and Exchange Commission to pay a fine or face charges. This follows his initial purchases of Twitter shares in 2022.
"No! I don't care about the money. It's really important to have a source of truth."
Elon Musk
pic.twitter.com/AnfeHk5gz2— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) December 17, 2024
Musk revealed on his social media platform X that the SEC wants him to settle charges related to not disclosing his initial share purchase within the legal timeframe.
𝕏 is the best source for updates on all of Elon Musk’s companies. pic.twitter.com/Jdls3jB9Ct
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) December 17, 2024
A letter from Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said the agency demanded Musk agree to the fine within 48 hours “or face charges on numerous counts.”
The SEC usually does not comment on ongoing investigations.
My piece in @ndtv on the endless attacks by the Biden administration against @elonmusk which show how vindictive & politicised the Democrats can get. Do read & share. https://t.co/4iHOZuzSyX
— Sandhya Ravishankar (@sandhyaravishan) December 16, 2024
Spiro’s letter claimed SEC staff suggested the demands came from their superiors and charges would happen if Musk did not comply. Musk has refused the demand.
Musk and the SEC have clashed before.
"I was trying to figure out how can I inflict the most amount of pain on myself?….
well that would be buying Twitter"
一 Elon Musk
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) December 18, 2024
Sec demands settlement from Musk
This disagreement comes as Musk challenges the agency’s authority to limit his communications with investors.
The letter also mentioned Spiro had been subpoenaed to give testimony, which he refused, and the SEC reopened an investigation into Musk’s company, Neuralink. In 2018, the SEC reached a settlement with Musk and Tesla after determining Musk misled investors with claims of having “funding secured” to take Tesla private. Tesla and Musk each paid $20 million fines.
Musk also agreed to have his tweets about company matters pre-approved by Tesla and gave up the title of Tesla’s chairman, although he remained CEO. In April 2022, Musk disclosed a purchase of 9% of Twitter shares ahead of his eventual acquisition of the entire company for $44 billion. The SEC investigated why Musk did not disclose these purchases within the required 10 days after crossing the 5% threshold of shares owned.
Musk’s troubles with a Gensler-led SEC may soon end, as President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Paul Adkins, co-chairman of the crypto advocacy group Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance, to lead the agency.
April Isaacs is a news contributor for DevX.com She is long-term, self-proclaimed nerd. She loves all things tech and computers and still has her first Dreamcast system. It is lovingly named Joni, after Joni Mitchell.
