The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to discipline billionaire Elon Musk for missing scheduled testimony in September as part of an investigation into his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc.
The SEC said in a filing Friday that the Tesla CEO was scheduled to testify before three SEC lawyers on Sept. 10. One of Musk's advisers told the SEC's lawyers that Musk would not be able to attend the scheduled testimony because he had an “urgent need to travel” to Cape Canaveral, Florida, where SpaceX's Polaris Dawn was scheduled to launch the following day.
This marks the second time Musk has missed testimony about the SEC's investigation into his acquisition of the social media platform now known as X.
“Mr. Musk has twice failed to appear before the SEC, first in September 2023, contrary to a lawful administrative subpoena, and then last week, contrary to an express court order,” SEC attorney Robin Andrews wrote in the complaint, which was filed in San Francisco federal court.
“The court must make it clear that Musk's bargaining and delaying tactics must end,” he said.
The agency's lawyers argued that Musk already had advance knowledge of the planned launch, given his role as SpaceX's chief technology officer.
Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Musk, said the SEC's sanctions were “severe” and that a new testimony date had been agreed upon.
“The emergency described above was the reason Mr. Musk had to reschedule his testimony from September 10, and there is no reason to believe such an emergency will occur again,” Spiro said.
In response to The Hill's request for comment, Spiro reiterated that the testimony had been rescheduled due to a “major” rocket launch, adding, “The last time the SEC came hysterically into court, they were told to 'put your adult pants on.'”
Musk settled with the SEC in 2018. As part of the settlement, he had to step down as Tesla's chairman for at least three years and pay a $20 million fine.
