A federal judge signaled a readiness to potentially compel Elon Musk to provide further testimony in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
During a hearing in a San Francisco courtroom on Thursday, attorneys representing the billionaire argued against the SEC’s efforts to require Musk’s testimony as part of the probe into his purchase of the social media giant in 2022. While a previous ruling had favored the SEC, lawyers for Musk sought to sway U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley against the regulatory agency.
The SEC initiated legal action against Musk in October, seeking to compel his testimony after he declined to participate in a September interview, citing what he deemed as the SEC’s attempts to “harass” him with numerous subpoenas.
While Judge Corley did not issue a decision during Thursday’s proceedings, she expressed skepticism regarding the necessity of conducting the deposition at an SEC office.
The investigation centers on whether Musk violated federal securities laws during his acquisition of Twitter in 2022, subsequently rebranding it as X. The SEC is examining Musk’s statements and filings related to the transaction.
In response to the SEC’s request for additional testimony, Musk’s attorney, Rachel Frank of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, argued that further testimony would burden Musk and detract from his obligations to shareholders.
Judge Corley raised the question of whether Musk should be exempt from securities laws and ongoing investigations merely due to his busy schedule as the head of multiple companies.
Thursday’s proceedings mark the latest development in an ongoing dispute between Musk and the top U.S. markets regulator, stemming back to 2018 when Musk infamously tweeted about securing funding to take Tesla private.
