SEC seeks to force Elon Musk to testify in investigation into Twitter purchase

(NEW YORK) — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday sought to force Elon Musk to sit for a deposition as part of an ongoing investigation about his purchase of Twitter, now known as X.

The SEC said Musk failed to appear for testimony as required by a May subpoena despite agreeing to show up last month at the SEC’s office in San Francisco.

Musk waited until two days before the scheduled date to notify the SEC he would not appear, regulators said. They’re now seeking a court order to force Musk to comply.

Musk acquired the social media site in October 2022 for roughly $44 billion.

The testimony subpoena involves an ongoing investigation by the SEC into “potential violations of various provisions of the federal securities laws” regarding Musk’s purchase, as well as statements he made last year and SEC filings related to Twitter, the SEC said in a press release.

“[The] SEC seeks Musk’s testimony to obtain information not already in the SEC’s possession that is relevant to its legitimate and lawful investigation,” the press release said, noting the SEC staff to date have not determined that any person or entity has violated federal securities laws.

In response to a post on X about the SEC’s court order and other government investigations into his companies, Musk said a “comprehensive overhaul of these agencies is sorely needed, along with a commission to take punitive action against those individuals who have abused their regulatory power for personal and political gain.”

“Can’t wait for this to happen,” he added.

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