The SEC officers investigating Elon Musk over his dealing with of the Twitter takeover appear to be rising increasingly more impatient together with his authorized antics. The 2 sides have been locked in a dispute over Musk’s refusal to testify within the investigation.Now, in a brand new submitting, the SEC accuses Musk of attempting to “misrepresent” the regulator’s investigation. “Musk continues to distort the true scope of this investigation – his solely hope for establishing that the SEC shouldn’t be in search of related proof,” the SEC writes in a courtroom doc.
The SEC has been investigating Musk over his delayed disclosure of his stake in Twitter, which was then a publicly-traded firm. The regulator Musk final yr in an effort to drive him to testify within the investigation. The SEC mentioned it was investigating “amongst different issues, potential violations of varied provisions of the federal securities legal guidelines in reference to” his buy of Twitter inventory and “SEC filings regarding Twitter.” A federal decide ordered Musk to adjust to the subpoena and schedule an interview .
That testimony has apparently nonetheless not taken place, with the SEC accusing Musk of utilizing “gamesmanship” to stall the investigation. The regulator goes on to notice that whereas Musk’s authorized staff has claimed the probe is an “unbounded investigation into an allegedly days-late SEC submitting,” that “the SEC workers has repeatedly knowledgeable Musk that it’s false.”
Musk, in response to the SEC, can be being investigated for securities fraud. “This investigation additionally examines potential securities fraud in violation of Part 10(b) of the Securities Change Act … associated to, amongst different issues, Musk’s public statements about his acquisition of Twitter,” the SEC says.
Notably, the submitting additionally references the recently-released y of Musk written by Walter Isaacson, which incorporates “newly launched proof,” in response to the SEC. “Three days earlier than he was to seem for the testimony he did not attend, his September 2023 biography was revealed,” the SEC writes. “This e book supplies necessary new info related to the SEC’s investigation.”
It’s additionally not the primary time Isaacson’s account of the Twitter takeover has landed Musk in scorching water. A gaggle of suing Musk over unpaid severance additionally referenced a passage from the e book of their lawsuit.
X didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
