SEC sues Elon Musk over CEO's refusal to testify in Twitter investigation

Elon Musk is being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in an attempt to compel the CEO to testify regarding his 2022 purchase of Twitter, the social media site now known as X.

Musk was previously subpoenaed but failed to appear in court for a testimony on Sept. 15, according to a complaint filed by SEC attorneys in the Northern District of California on Thursday, NBC News reported.

"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," attorneys stated in the complaint. "Accordingly, the SEC now asks the Court to compel Musk to appear for investigative testimony."

The SEC's investigation is related to possible securities-law violations which may have occurred as Musk was acquiring the company for $44 billion.

The tech billionaire has allegedly been dodging the SEC's multiple attempts to meet with him to discuss the probe, despite the agency offering to schedule a sit-down in Fort Worth, Texas, "the closest SEC office to Musk's current personal residence," the SEC said, referring to Musk's home in Austin.

Lawyers representing the SEC added that Musk took objection to the subpoena because he was not satisfied with the testimony being scheduled in San Francisco.

Although several dates were proposed for October and November, "these good faith efforts were met with Musk's blanket refusal to appear for testimony," the suit said.

Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, responded to the suit in an emailed statement to Barron's. "The SEC has already taken Mr. Musk's testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation—enough is enough," he wrote.

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