(Washington) Elon Musk will have to explain himself to the American stock market policeman, the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), as part of an investigation into Twitter’s 2022 acquisition, a federal judge ordered.
“The court grants the SEC’s request to execute the subpoena,” according to this decision by California judge Laurel Beeler, published on Saturday, and which AFP was able to consult.
The billionaire and the SEC now have one week to agree on a date and place, it is specified.
The stock market watchdog is seeking to determine whether the billionaire broke the law when he purchased Twitter shares, an operation which marked the start of a turbulent acquisition process for the platform.
The SEC filed a complaint in October against Elon Musk to force him to testify as part of this investigation, one of several legal proceedings linked to this controversial takeover, and indicated that he did not appear for a hearing whose date had already been moved several times.
“Despite the specious nature of Musk’s untimely objections, the SEC staff attempted to negotiate in good faith with Musk to find an alternative date and location for his hearing,” the SEC said at the time. “These good faith efforts were met with categorical refusal from Musk.”
“Musk’s continued refusal to comply with the SEC’s subpoena hinders and delays the SEC’s investigation into whether violations of federal laws […] were committed,” she insisted.
Elon Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, assured that the testimony of the boss of Tesla and SpaceX had already been collected “several times as part of this misguided investigation – enough is enough”.
The procrastination and attacks during the months preceding the takeover, as well as the decisions of the new owner afterwards, were marked by numerous controversies, and led to various legal actions, from investors, former employees and companies that had contracts with Twitter.
Shareholders have, for example, filed a complaint against Elon Musk, accusing him of having disclosed his 5% stake in Twitter too late, after the deadline set by the SEC.