The SEC is suing Musk, alleging he failed to properly disclose his ownership of Twitter

The SEC filed suit against Elon Musk on Tuesday, alleging the billionaire committed securities fraud in 2022 by failing to disclose his ownership on Twitter and buying shares at an “artificially low price.”

Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, acquired Twitter for $44 billion, later changing the name of the social network to X. Before the acquisition, he built a position in the company of more than 5%, which would have required disclosure of his stake.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Musk withheld this material information, “allowing him to underpay at least $150 million for the stock he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report should have been filed.”

The SEC was investigating Did Musk or anyone else who worked with him commit securities fraud in 2022? Tesla The CEO sold shares in his car company and increased his stake in Twitter ahead of a debt-financed buyout. musk said in a report on X last month that the SEC had issued a “settlement demand” forcing it to agree to a deal, including a fine, within 48 hours or “face multiple counts” of the stock purchase.

Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, said in an emailed statement that the action was an admission by the SEC that “they can’t bring a real case.” He added that Musk “has done nothing wrong” and called the lawsuit “bogus” and the result of a “year-long campaign of harassment” that culminated in a “one-count complaint.

Musk is just one week away from a potentially influential role in government as President-elect Donald Trump’s second term begins on January 20. Musk, who was Trump’s top financial backer in the latter stages of the campaign, is poised to lead an advisory group that will focus in part on reducing regulations, including those affecting Musk’s various companies.

In July, Trump promised to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. After Trump won the election, Gensler announced that he would instead resign.

In a separate civil lawsuit related to the Twitter deal, the Oklahoma Firefighters Retirement System sued Musk, accusing him of intentionally concealing his progressive investment in the social network and his intention to buy the company. Lawyers for the pension fund argued that Musk, by not accurately disclosing his investments, influenced the decisions of other shareholders and put them at a disadvantage.

This story is evolving.