In the latest twist in the feud between Elon Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency has taken Musk to court to force him to testify in its investigation into his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.
The SEC alleges that Musk broke securities laws in 2022 when he bought stock in Twitter and made statements about the deal. Musk has refused to comply with an SEC subpoena to testify about the matter.
A federal court judge ordered Musk to appear for testimony on September 15. However, Musk defied the order and refused to show up. The SEC is now seeking a contempt order against Musk, which could result in fines or even jail time.
The case marks the third time the SEC has taken Musk to court. In 2018, the agency sued Musk for tweeting that he had funding secured to take Tesla private. The case was settled, but Musk was forced to agree to have his tweets vetted by a lawyer before posting them. In 2019, the SEC sued Musk again for violating the terms of the settlement. The case is still ongoing.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.