US judge tentatively rules Elon Musk must testify again in SEC's Twitter probe
Elon Musk must testify again for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's probe of his $44 billion Twitter takeover, handing the SEC a victory in its latest skirmish with the world's richest person.
During a hearing in San Francisco, U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler quickly rejected arguments by Musk's attorney that SEC officials do not have the authority to issue subpoenas, saying the agency has broad investigative powers and that no judge would «second guess» an SEC probe.
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«If you don't work it out, then it's in San Francisco in February,» she said during Thursday's hearing.
The SEC sued Musk in October to compel the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to testify as part of an investigation into his 2022 purchase of social media giant Twitter, which he subsequently renamed X. Musk refused to attend a September interview for the probe, the SEC said.
The agency is examining whether Musk followed the law when filing the required paperwork with the agency about his purchases in Twitter stock, and whether his statements in relation to the deal were misleading.
Thursday's face-off is the latest spat in a years-long feud between Musk and the top U.S. markets regulator, dating back to 2018 when he tweeted that he had «funding secured» to take the electric carmaker private.
The SEC has been probing Musk's Twitter takeover since April 2022,
