The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Elon Musk, alleging that he failed to disclose “in a timely manner” his acquisition of shares in the former Twitter before purchasing the company that operates the social media platform.
“Elon Musk did not promptly report to the SEC (…) his acquisition of over 5% of Twitter’s outstanding common stock in March 2022,” the agency stated in its filing, adding that this “enabled him to pay an artificially low price.”
According to the SEC, this failure allowed the world’s richest man, owner of companies like Tesla and SpaceX, to avoid paying at least $150 million for shares he purchased after the deadline to declare beneficial ownership of Twitter (now rebranded as X).
The SEC had previously sued Musk in October 2024, seeking to compel him to testify as part of its investigation into the Twitter acquisition, one of several probes into the controversial deal. The agency cited Musk’s failure to appear for a deposition that had been rescheduled multiple times.
A federal judge subsequently ordered the billionaire to provide testimony to the SEC in February 2024.
Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, stated that his client had already testified “repeatedly in this absurd investigation — enough is enough.”
Months of evasions and disputes before the acquisition, as well as Musk’s decisions after becoming the platform’s owner, have triggered numerous legal battles and lawsuits, including claims from investors, former employees, and companies that had contracts with Twitter Inc.
Shareholders have also sued Musk, accusing him of disclosing his 5% stake in Twitter’s equity well past the SEC-mandated deadline.
When contacted for comment, Spiro did not respond to inquiries from Agence France-Presse.
Source: ANA-MPA/AFP
