NEW YORK (Reuters) – Elon Musk has filed objections in San Francisco federal court, asking a federal judge not to force him to testify in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s probe into his $44 billion takeover of social media site Twitter. Musk’s lawyers stated in the filing that the SEC’s subpoena exceeds its investigative authority, is overly burdensome, and seeks irrelevant evidence.
The SEC initiated the investigation in April 2022, focusing on Musk’s purchases of Twitter stock and his statements and SEC filings related to Twitter. Musk had refused to attend a September interview for the probe, and his attorney, Alex Spiro, has labeled the investigation as “misguided.”
In the filing made on Thursday, Spiro and Musk’s other lawyers argued that “the SEC’s pursuit of Mr. Musk has crossed the line into harassment”. The SEC, which has previously claimed its authority to seek additional testimony from Musk, was not immediately available for comment.
In April 2022, Musk disclosed his acquisition of a 9.2% stake in Twitter, 11 days after the SEC’s deadline for such disclosures. Initially, Musk stated that he intended to be a passive stakeholder, with no plans to take over the company. However, later that month, he announced his plans to purchase Twitter for $44 billion, later alleging non-disclosure of bot activity on the platform in an attempt to withdraw from the deal.
After being sued to complete the deal, Musk successfully closed his acquisition of Twitter in late October 2022. The SEC mentioned in a court filing that Musk had provided documents and testimony in July of the previous year via video conference, but attorneys for the agency expressed the need for more clarification after reviewing the documents.
Musk’s lawyers argued that the SEC has spent 18 months investigating him over an allegedly untimely filing and described it as “the latest chapter in a more-than-five-year saga of agency harassment against Mr. Musk and related entities.”
This court battle is the latest development in the turbulent relationship between the U.S. market regulator and Musk, who is currently the world’s wealthiest person. In 2018, the SEC sued Musk over his social media posts claiming to have “funding secured” to take Tesla private. Musk settled but was sued again in 2019 for violating the terms of the agreement. Musk has accused the agency of conducting numerous investigations into him and Tesla.
Musk intends to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the legality of his SEC settlement, which requires him to consult with a Tesla lawyer when posting on social media.
Reporting by Jody Godoy and Chris Prentice in New York; additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
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