SEC Push Against Elon Musk Stalls as Judge Denies Sanctions

A U.S. federal judge declined the SEC’s request to sanction Elon Musk over his absence from a court-ordered testimony related to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled sanctions unnecessary as Musk testified on Oct. 3 and reimbursed the SEC $2,923 for travel expenses. The SEC argued Musk violated a May 31 order and sought stronger deterrents, but Corley deemed the issue moot. Musk attributed his Sept. 10 absence to overseeing Spacex’s Polaris Dawn mission. The SEC’s probe examines if Musk delayed disclosing his Twitter stock purchases in 2022, potentially violating securities laws. Critics suggest the delay allowed Musk to acquire shares cheaply before revealing a 9.2% stake. Musk previously acknowledged a misunderstanding of SEC rules. This follows a 2018 settlement with the SEC over Tesla-related tweets. The case remains in the Northern District of California court.