SEC seeks to force Musk testimony on Twitter stock acquisitions
Saul Martinez
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it is seeking to force Elon Musk â CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) â to testify as it probes Musk's acquisition of Twitter's shares ahead of his takeover of the social media company.
The regulator on Thursday said that Musk did not appear to testify last month as requested, and asked a judge to force him to. The SEC is reviewing the billionaire's statements and disclosures about the stock transactions, as per a filing by the agency in a federal court in San Francisco.
The SEC started its investigation in April 2022 and has asked for thousands of documents from Musk and other parties, the regulator noted. Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX (SPACE), has already sent hundreds of documents, and testified twice in July 2022, as per the filing.
The SEC added that Musk had agreed to an interview with the agency last month. But, two days before the scheduled Sept. 15 meeting, Musk raised several objections, including that San Francisco was not the appropriate place for it. Investigators suggested new dates and agreed to move the interview to Fort Worth, Texas, near where Musk now lives, but Musk refused to meet at all, the filing added.
Before buying all of Twitter, now known as X, Musk first purchased a 9.2% stake in the company in March 2022. Musk disclosed the stake to the SEC in April. The agency's regulations require most people who acquire more than 5% of a public company to disclose it within 10 days.
As Musk was increasing his holdings of Twitter stock, the agency sent a query to him in April 2022 over how he disclosed the major stake. The letter from the SEC was focused on the form which investors must file when they gather over 5% of a company, Bloomberg reported last year.

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