Elon Musk Faces Penalty Over Twitter Stock Purchases: Updates on Disclosure
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, is facing potential penalties from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over his Twitter stock purchases in relation to the acquisition of the social media platform in 2022. His lawyer, Alex Spiro, has called the SEC’s demand for a monetary payment a “misguided scheme” and expressed confidence that Musk won’t be intimidated by it. In addition, the SEC has reportedly reopened an investigation into Neuralink, Musk’s brain interface company.
While the SEC has not officially confirmed the details mentioned in the letter posted by Musk, they maintain that investigations are conducted confidentially to protect the integrity of the process. Musk’s lawyer responded to the SEC’s inquiries about his Twitter shares transactions and demanded transparency about who authorized the actions.
Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022. However, a lawsuit filed by a Twitter investor claimed that Musk failed to disclose his accumulating stake in the company, causing harm to regular investors. The delayed disclosure of Musk’s stake in Twitter led to a significant surge in the stock price once made public, depriving some investors of potential gains.
This is not the first time Elon Musk has been at odds with the SEC. In 2018, he and Tesla paid $20 million in fines over tweets about taking Tesla private without actually doing so. Musk challenged a settlement provision that required his Tesla-related postings to be reviewed by an attorney, arguing it infringed on his free speech rights, but the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is set to step down from his post on January 20, 2025, when a new chair appointed by President Trump will take over. Trump has named Musk as co-chair of a “Department of Government Efficiency” aimed at reforming the federal government.
Please note that the information shared is based on publicly available sources and official statements from those involved.
