Here’s the rewritten article:
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Seeks Sanctions Against Elon Musk Over Twitter Acquisition
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced plans to seek sanctions against billionaire Elon Musk, founder of electric car maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, after he failed to appear for court-ordered testimony in an investigation into his $44 billion takeover of Twitter. The SEC claims that Musk’s actions violate a court order compelling his testimony.
According to the SEC’s filing in San Francisco federal court, Musk failed to show up for a scheduled testimony on September 10, citing an “emergency” that he did not cause. The SEC says that as SpaceX’s chief technical officer, Musk “surely was already aware” of the planned launch of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, which he attended in Florida on the same day. The SEC claims that Musk’s excuse for missing the testimony, which was to oversee the launch, is “gamesmanship” and that he must cease his delay tactics.
Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, has called the sanctions motion “drastic” and unnecessary, stating that his client’s absence from the launch could have endangered astronauts’ lives and that his testimony has been rescheduled for October 3.
The SEC is investigating whether Musk violated securities laws in early 2022 when he started accumulating Twitter stock. Musk has been criticized for waiting at least 10 days too long to disclose his ownership stake in Twitter, which is a requirement for investors who reach 5% ownership of public companies. Musk eventually disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter and soon offered to buy the whole company.
In July, Musk said he misunderstood SEC disclosure requirements, claiming that “all indications” suggested his delay was a “mistake.” The SEC sued Musk in October after he missed a scheduled interview at its San Francisco office. Musk has long feuded with the SEC, including after it sued him in 2018 over his Twitter posts about taking Tesla private. Musk settled that lawsuit by paying a $20 million fine, agreeing to have Tesla lawyers review some posts in advance, and giving up his role as Tesla’s chairman.
The SEC’s investigation into Musk’s Twitter acquisition is ongoing.
