Musk blasts SEC over offer to settle long-running federal probe

Source: Washington Post

Musk blasts SEC over offer to settle long-running federal probe
The X and Tesla executive — now a close adviser of President-elect Donald Trump — publicly posted a letter from his lawyer to the agency.

December 12, 2024 at 10:28 p.m. EST


Elon Musk, CEO of X and Tesla, in 2023. Musk said Thursday night that the Securities and Exchange Commission had offered to settle a long-running investigation into his actions when he bought X, which was then known as Twitter. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Tony Romm and Faiz Siddiqui

Elon Musk revealed on Thursday that he had received an offer to settle a federal investigation into potential securities fraud stemming from his 2022 purchase of Twitter, now known as X, which his lawyer appeared to dismiss on grounds that the probe was politically motivated. … The private talks burst into public view after Musk — now one of President-elect Donald Trump’s top advisers — shared a letter from his lawyer saying that the tech billionaire had been given 48 hours to accept a deal or face numerous, unspecified charges “imminently.”

The probe is the work of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a leading federal financial watchdog led by Chairman Gary Gensler. For about two years, the SEC has investigated Musk for taking too long to disclose his 2022 purchase of a sizable amount of Twitter stock, which may have allowed him to accumulate a large stake in the company at a discount.

Failing to disclose the purchases promptly may have benefited Musk financially, because the price could have gone up if investors knew he was buying shares, The Washington Post previously reported.

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Musk’s lawyer on Thursday also revealed the SEC had reopened an investigation into Neuralink, another Musk company, which develops computing devices that can be implanted in human brains. He did not elaborate on the agency’s focus on that firm.

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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/12/elon-musk-sec-gensler-letter/