Elon Musk is under fire once again as the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) probes the legality of his $44 billion acquisition of X (formerly Twitter).
In March 2022, the billionaire bought stock in the social media platform which he later renamed to X.
However, the acquisition remained undisclosed in an SEC filing until the following month, which made Musk the subject of lawsuits until he eventually bought the platform for $44 billion in October last year.
Musk Cries "Harassment" From the SEC
Earlier this year, Musk was subpoenaed by the SEC regarding the same potential violations, and was called to testify in the agency's office.
However, while Musk initially agreed to show up, he raised "several spurious objections," backing out of his initial plan to testify.
At the time, Musk's attorney Alex Spiro wrote in an email: "The SEC has already taken Mr. Musk's testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation — enough is enough."
Additionally, Musk claimed that he was subject to harassment by the SEC, which affected his decision to appear in the SEC's San Francisco office.
Eventually, the SEC sought "Musk’s testimony to obtain information not already in the SEC's possession that is relevant to its legitimate and lawful investigation."
Musk and the SEC Go Way Back
Before Musk acquired the social media giant, he had already been the subject of questioning by the Wall Street regulator.
In 2018, Musk tweeted details surrounding a deal to take Tesla private at $420 per share. This caught the attention of the SEC, leading them to file and settle fraud charges against the Tesla owner and CEO.
Eventually, Musk stepped down as the chair of Tesla and paid $20 million in charges, but made it clear in a television show that he does not respect the organization.
Edited by Nikola Djuric
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