The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Elon Musk on Thursday in an effort to compel him to testify in its probe over Musk’s purchase of Twitter, the platform now known as X.
The SEC alleges Musk failed to comply with a subpoena as part of the SEC’s investigation over the billionaire’s purchase of Twitter last year.
“The SEC has followed all appropriate administrative steps required in seeking Musk’s testimony. In the face of Musk’s blatant refusal to comply with the SEC’s subpoena, the SEC now asks the Court to intervene and compel Musk’s compliance,” the SEC wrote in a filing.
The Hill reached out to an X spokesperson for comment.
The SEC started an investigation into Musk’s purchase of Twitter in April 2022. The probe was looking into whether any person or entities violated any federal security laws in connection to Musk’s purchase of Twitter’s stock and his statement and SEC filing related to Twitter.
As part of the investigation, the SEC said it served Musk with a subpoena to testify in June, and a month later he appeared for two half-day sessions by video conference.
However, since Musk testified, the SEC has received “thousands of new documents,” including “hundreds of new documents produced by Musk,” according to the lawsuit.
Despite repeated subpoenas and requests from the SEC since May, Musk has refused to testify, through pushing off scheduled dates and refusing to appear, the SEC alleged.
“Musk’s ongoing refusal to comply with the SEC’s administrative subpoena is hindering and delaying the SEC staff’s investigation to determine whether violations of the federal securities laws have occurred. Accordingly, the SEC now asks the Court to compel Musk to appear for investigative testimony,” the SEC wrote.
Updated at 4:53 pm.