Federal Court Orders Elon Musk Must Testify in SEC Investigation

• The federal court has issued a ruling that compels Elon Musk to testify again in the ongoing SEC investigation.
• Musk initially refused the SEC interview, citing harassment via subpoenas.

Federal court orders Elon Musk to testify again in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) investigation into his $44 billion Twitter takeover. The court ruled in favor of the SEC’s request after Musk refused to attend an initial interview in September 2023, claiming “harassment.” 

The investigation centers on whether Musk violated securities laws during the 2022 acquisition of Twitter, later renamed X, and scrutinizes his statements and filings related to the deal. 

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler had previously sided with the SEC in February, compelling Musk to undergo deposition, a decision Musk subsequently sought to review. However, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley upheld Beeler’s ruling on Tuesday, stating that the investigations Musk claims are “harassment” are legitimate government inquiries and that Musk had failed to demonstrate that the subpoena was unreasonable.

This dispute adds to Musk’s ongoing clashes with the SEC since 2018, stemming from his tweet that “funding secured” about taking Tesla private. 

Finally, despite Musk’s prior cooperation in supplying documents and testifying, the SEC seeks further clarification following new evidence, prompting the court’s intervention.