Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, has lodged an objection in a San Francisco federal court against the U.S..
The SEC wants him to testify about his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in their ongoing investigation.
Musk’s legal team argues that the subpoena is too much, goes beyond its authority, and seeks unnecessary evidence.
Musk’s legal battle with SEC’s investigation
Elon Musk has filed his objections in court against the SEC’s legal action. The Security and Exchange Commission wants him to testify in an investigation that started in April 2022.
Musk’s lawyers argue that the SEC’s subpoena goes beyond its authority and is unnecessary.
They say it’s unfair to Musk, and they want evidence that doesn’t matter, according to their legal document.
They said it is mainly looking into Elon Musk’s stock buys on Twitter in 2022. The review has Musk’s statements and SEC legal filings about Twitter. Musk later renamed Twitter as “X.”
Musk declined the Security and Exchange Commission interview for the September investigation, which was crucial for the probe in which Musk challenges the SEC.
Elon Musk’s attorney argument
Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Musk, has criticized the investigation as “misguided.”
Spiro and Musk’s lawyers say the SEC is harassing them and that their actions towards Mr Musk have gone too far.
The Security and Exchange Commission still needs to respond to these objections.
The agency received new documents during the investigation. It believes it has the power to ask Musk for more information.
Twitter timeline
Musk bought 9.2% of Twitter in April 2022. However, he made the purchase 11 days after the SEC’s deadline for reporting such acquisitions.
Initially, Musk claimed he would be a passive stakeholder and had no intention of taking over the company.
He later expressed his desire to purchase Twitter for $44 billion. Twitter doesn’t share enough info about its bots, so that’s why this decision was made.
The attempted acquisition faced legal challenges, and Musk tried to back out of the deal. Despite the legal disputes, Musk completed the acquisition in late October 2022.
Musk’s Cooperation with the SEC
Musk gave documents and testified in July of last year via video conference for the investigation. However, the SEC says they have more questions after looking at the documents and want more testimony.
Long-standing battle with the security and exchange Commission
The SEC has sent 32 subpoenas and questioned Musk and three others on seven occasions as part of its investigation.
Musk personally received five subpoenas for documents and three for his deposition.
The SEC’s nearly 18-month investigation has focused on what it characterizes as an “untimely legal filing” by Musk.
This new event is part of a long struggle that has been ongoing for over five years. People perceive the government’s constant and invasive actions against Mr. Musk and related companies.
This fight is the latest development in the ongoing disagreement between the SEC and Musk. Musk is currently the wealthiest person in the world.
Elon Musk’s repeated SEC conflicts
In 2018, the SEC sued Musk for his tweets about having money to make Tesla private. However, they later reached an agreement.
In 2019, the SEC took legal action against Musk, claiming he broke the terms of the earlier agreement. Musk has consistently accused the SEC of subjecting him and Tesla to numerous investigations.
He wants to challenge the legality of his SEC settlement. The settlement requires him to get approval from a Tesla lawyer before posting specific social media messages.
