SEC seeks sanctions after Elon Musk skips Twitter probe testimony

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pursuing sanctions against Elon Musk for not attending a scheduled testimony regarding his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, now known as X. A federal judge had mandated Musk to testify as part of the SEC's investigation into whether he complied with legal requirements when disclosing his Twitter stock purchases. The SEC is particularly focused on the accuracy of Musk's statements related to the deal. Musk was supposed to testify on September 10, but just three hours before the session, his lawyer informed the SEC that Musk had to travel to the East Coast for a SpaceX mission launch. The SEC claims that Musk's excuse appears to be a tactic to avoid the testimony, noting that SpaceX had already announced the launch date prior to the scheduled testimony. The SEC alleges that Musk violated a court order by not obtaining written consent to change the testimony date. They argue that Musk's last-minute notification was inconsiderate, especially after the SEC incurred significant expenses to send attorneys to Los Angeles for the testimony. The agency is seeking to recover these costs and impose further sanctions if Musk fails to appear at the rescheduled testimony in early October. In response, Musk's legal team contends that the situation does not require court intervention, as a new date for the testimony has already been agreed upon. They assert that Musk is under a court order to appear unless an unavoidable emergency arises, which they claim was not the case with his absence.