Musk and the SEC – At Battle Again
Elon Musk is back in the SEC spotlight. This time the Commission filed a subpoena enforcement action against Mr. Musk, requesting that he be compelled to appear for testimony in an investigation captioned In the Matter of Certain Purchases, Sales and Disclosures of Twitter Shares, SEC File No. SF-4519 (Formal Order). The Commission is seeking under the Formal Order and Corrected Order to investigate if any persons or entities violated the federal securities laws in connection with Mr. Musk’s 2022 purchase of Twitter stock, now known as X, and his statements and SEC filings related to Twitter.
Mr. Musk has appeared and given testimony as part of this investigation. Twice in July of 2022 he appeared for half day testimony sessions. Since that testimony the Commission claims to have received thousands of new documents from various parties. For example, following the last testimony session Mr. Musk produced documents to the staff. Others have also produced documents following the date of the last testimony session in 2022.
As is customary, the staff and Mr. Musk’s counsel worked out a schedule for the testimony. Ultimately the parties agreed on September 14, 2023. It was to be conducted at the San Francisco regional office of the agency. The date was reset to September 15 at the request of Mr. Musk’s counsel. A subpoena was then served on Mr. Musk for testimony on September 15 at the San Francisco Office of the Commission.
Two days before the scheduled testimony, Mr. Musk notified the staff he would not appear. The refusal was supposedly based on several objections not previously asserted which included to the venue – the San Francisco office. During subsequent discussions the staff supposedly offered to change the venue for the testimony to the Fort Worth, Texas office near the home of Mr. Musk. A variety of dates were proposed. Each offer by the staff was rejected by Mr. Musk. This action followed. No date has been set for the hearing.
This is not the first time Mr. Musk has litigated with the Commission. His 2019 battle ended with a consent degree. SEC v. Musk, Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-8865 (S.D.N.Y. 2019). Later Mr. Musk unsuccessfully attempted to have the consent order lifted. He was not successful.
Musk and the SEC – At Battle Again
Elon Musk is back in the SEC spotlight. This time the Commission filed a subpoena enforcement action against Mr. Musk, requesting that he be compelled to appear for testimony in an investigation captioned In the Matter of Certain Purchases, Sales and Disclosures of Twitter Shares, SEC File No. SF-4519 (Formal Order). The Commission is seeking under the Formal Order and Corrected Order to investigate if any persons or entities violated the federal securities laws in connection with Mr. Musk’s 2022 purchase of Twitter stock, now known as X, and his statements and SEC filings related to Twitter.
Mr. Musk has appeared and given testimony as part of this investigation. Twice in July of 2022 he appeared for half day testimony sessions. Since that testimony the Commission claims to have received thousands of new documents from various parties. For example, following the last testimony session Mr. Musk produced documents to the staff. Others have also produced documents following the date of the last testimony session in 2022.
As is customary, the staff and Mr. Musk’s counsel worked out a schedule for the testimony. Ultimately the parties agreed on September 14, 2023. It was to be conducted at the San Francisco regional office of the agency. The date was reset to September 15 at the request of Mr. Musk’s counsel. A subpoena was then served on Mr. Musk for testimony on September 15 at the San Francisco Office of the Commission.
Two days before the scheduled testimony, Mr. Musk notified the staff he would not appear. The refusal was supposedly based on several objections not previously asserted which included to the venue – the San Francisco office. During subsequent discussions the staff supposedly offered to change the venue for the testimony to the Fort Worth, Texas office near the home of Mr. Musk. A variety of dates were proposed. Each offer by the staff was rejected by Mr. Musk. This action followed. No date has been set for the hearing.
This is not the first time Mr. Musk has litigated with the Commission. His 2019 battle ended with a consent degree. SEC v. Musk, Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-8865 (S.D.N.Y. 2019). Later Mr. Musk unsuccessfully attempted to have the consent order lifted. He was not successful.