SEC plans to reprimand Musk for skipping testimony on Twitter takeover

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to reprimand billionaire Elon Musk for skipping a previously-scheduled September testimony part of the agency’s investigation into the businessman’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter. 

Tesla’s CEO was scheduled to testify on Sept. 10 in front of the agency’s three lawyers, the SEC said in a Friday filing. One of Musk’s counselors told the SEC’s lawyer that Musk would not be able to attend the scheduled testimony due to having to “urgently travel” to Cape Canaveral, Fla. where SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn was set to take off the following day. 

This was the second time that Musk skipped out on testifying about the SEC’s probe into the billionaire’s acquisition of social media platform now-called X. 

“Musk has now failed to appear before the SEC twice: first in September 2023, in defiance of a lawful administrative subpoena, and last week, in defiance of a clear court order,” SEC’s lawyer Robin Andews wrote in the filing. It was filed in San Francisco federal court. 

“The Court must make clear that Musk’s gamesmanship and delay tactics must cease,” he said. 

The government agency’s counsel argued Musk already knew in advance about the scheduled launch, considering his role as SpaceX’s chief technical officer. 

Alex Spiro, a lawyer representing Musk, said the SEC’s sanctions are “drastic” and that a new testimony date has been agreed upon.

“Mr. Musk had to reschedule the September 10 testimony only as the result of such an emergency, as described above, and there is no reason to believe such an emergency will reoccur,” Spiro said. 

Spiro, in response to The Hill’s request for comment, reiterated that the testimony was rescheduled for a “critical” rocket launch and added that “the last time the SEC went hysterically running into court they were told to ‘put their big boy pants on.’” 

In 2018, Musk reached a settlement with the SEC. As a part of it, he had to step down from his post as a chairman of Tesla for a minimum of three years and pay a $20 million fine.