Elon Musk Faces Potential Sanctions as SEC Investigates Twitter Purchase
Ruholamin Haqshanas is a contributing crypto writer for CryptoNews. He is a crypto and finance journalist with over four years of experience. Ruholamin has been featured in several high-profile crypto...
Elon Musk is under scrutiny as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moves to impose sanctions following his failure to attend a court-ordered deposition related to his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
The regulatory body announced on Friday its intention to seek sanctions against Musk after he canceled his scheduled testimony just three hours before it was set to take place on September 10, Reuters reported.
The SEC’s filing in a San Francisco federal court stated that it would request an order demanding Musk explain why he should not be held in civil contempt for failing to appear.
The agency argues that Musk’s last-minute decision to skip the deposition was in violation of a May 31 court order compelling his testimony.
On the day of the missed testimony, Musk, who leads Tesla and SpaceX, was at Florida’s Cape Canaveral to oversee the launch of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission.
Despite his role as SpaceX’s chief technical officer, the SEC maintains that Musk would have been aware of the planned launch well in advance, given the company’s internal discussions two days prior.
The regulator’s lawyer, Robin Andrews, accused Musk of engaging in “gamesmanship” and urged the court to put a stop to such tactics.
“Musk’s excuse itself smacks of gamesmanship,” Andrews wrote in the filing. “The court must make clear that Musk’s delay tactics must cease.”
Alex Spiro, Musk’s attorney, labeled the SEC’s move as “drastic” and unnecessary.
He argued that Musk’s presence was crucial for the safety of the astronauts involved in the
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