According to a new court filing, Elon Musk has agreed to testify in the SEC’s investigation into his 2022 purchase of Twitter. This comes 7 months after the SEC sued to compel testimony.
According to the filing, Musk has agreed to appear for up to 5 hours of questioning later this year at one of the SEC’s offices. “The parties have conferred regarding the date and location of Respondent’s additional investigative testimony, and agreed to conduct the testimony at one of four specified SEC offices on a date more than 60 days from the Court’s May 14, 2024 Order,” the filing reads. Furthermore, Musk agreed not to appeal the court decision that ordered him to comply with the agency’s subpoena.
The SEC is investigating potential violations of U.S. securities laws around Musk’s purchase of Twitter, according to an SEC filing in Oct 2023 in the Northern District of California. The SEC sued Musk in October to compel him to testify after he refused to attend a September interview. The billionaire has said the SEC is trying to “harass” him through unwarranted investigations.
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To counter the argument, the SEC responded that they were working within its bounds. The regulator said it was granted authority by law to seek testimony and documents as it continued its investigation.
Elon Musk has frequently accused the SEC of abusive enforcement since he agreed with the agency in 2018 to have an in-house lawyer pre-approve his social media posts about Tesla. In April, the US Supreme Court refused to take up Musk’s challenge to the “Twitter sitter” agreement. The billionaire has been active on X since the announcement but has yet to comment on the agreement.