In this photo illustration, an image of Elon Musk is displayed on a mobile device with an X and the Twitter logo in the background, July 23, 2023.
Jonathan Ra | Null Photo | Getty Images
tesla And SpaceX CEO Elon Musk must testify in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the company’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter. ordered by a federal judge Saturday.
As CNBC previously reported, the SEC has determined that Musk or someone else committed securities fraud as he began buying Twitter stock and accumulating stock ahead of a leveraged buyout of the social media company in 2022. We are investigating whether this is the case.
Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in October 2022 in a deal worth about $44 billion and later rebranded the company as “X.”
inside order In a Feb. 10, 2024, federal judge, Judge Laurel Beeler ruled that Musk and his lawyers argued that the SEC’s subpoenas in this matter amounted to harassment of billionaires, but that the federal financial regulator “is not acting within its authority.” “Within scope,” and the subpoena was “clear.” We are currently investigating the matter and are seeking relevant information.”
Federal financial regulators and Mr. Musk have one week to decide on a date, time and location for his testimony.
Musk and his lawyer, Alex Spiro, did not respond to requests for comment. An SEC spokesperson declined to comment “other than the public filings on this matter.”
Mr. Musk has repeatedly tried to challenge, if not strip, powers from federal regulators.
For example, he asked: United States Supreme Court This is to reverse a settlement agreement he and Tesla previously reached with the SEC. The proposed settlement would require Musk to seek approval from his “Twitter sitters” before posting tweets about his electric vehicle business. Musk’s lawyers argued that the agreement imposed unconstitutional conditions on him and violated his right to free speech.
In another example, SpaceX, the defense contractor led by Mr. Musk, was brought to the National Labor Relations Board after a federal agency sued the rocket maker for illegally firing an employee who had signed an open letter criticizing Mr. Musk. sued the committee. The letter said, among other things, that Musk’s “public behavior is often distracting and embarrassing to us.”
SpaceX filed suit against the NLRB in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Brownsville. SpaceX lawyers argued in their lawsuit that the very structure of the Federal Labor Relations Board violates the U.S. Constitution. Their lawsuit is similar to one filed by former Starbucks employees against the NLRB, seeking to block the NLRB’s previous claims against SpaceX from proceeding.
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