U.S. regulators and representatives of Elon Musk have remained tight-lipped regarding whether the billionaire attended a scheduled interview on Thursday concerning his acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, as mandated by a federal court. Last month, Musk did not show up for a court-ordered appearance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) office in Los Angeles.
However, Musk was notably silent on X for several hours on Thursday morning and later posted on Friday, suggesting he had visited Los Angeles. The SEC is investigating whether Musk delayed too long in disclosing his stake accumulation in Twitter prior to his 2022 takeover—a delay he has acknowledged as a mistake. The SEC has indicated that sanctions could be sought if Musk fails to comply with their requests.
During a court hearing on September 10, the SEC reported that it incurred significant expenses to send three lawyers—two from San Francisco and one from Washington, D.C.—to take a sworn deposition from Musk.
Yet, just three hours before the scheduled appointment, Musk’s legal team informed the SEC of his unavailability. They explained that he had urgently traveled to the East Coast the day prior for a “high-risk” launch by his rocket company, SpaceX.
However, SpaceX had announced the launch timing two days before Musk’s deposition date, and a day before the meeting, Musk mentioned at a conference his intention to go to Florida “if the weather is holding up” for the launch. The SEC contends he did not communicate those plans to them.
After learning about Musk’s social media post and conference remarks, the government lawyers rescheduled the abruptly canceled meeting and requested a federal court’s intervention to ensure Musk’s appearance. Musk has provided two depositions since the SEC began its investigation into his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022.
The agency’s legal filings indicate they are examining whether Musk’s stock purchases prior to the full acquisition and his statements regarding those investments violated securities laws.
Elon Musk declined to provide testimony for a third time, prompting his lawyers to send a letter to the SEC accusing the agency of harassment. In October, the SEC requested a court order compelling him to testify again. SEC lawyers characterized Musk’s reason for missing his last appointment as “smacks of gamesmanship” in a filing dated September 20.
They urged U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley to impose a penalty if Musk failed to attend the next scheduled meeting, arguing that such measures were necessary to deter him from “failing to show up” again.
According to the SEC, Musk was supposed to obtain written consent from the agency or a court order to reschedule his appearance. In response, Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro of the law firm Quinn Emanuel, argued that Musk and his companies have been cooperative throughout the investigation.
He stated, “In this investigation alone, Mr. Musk has produced hundreds of documents, he has sat for testimony twice, his wealth manager has sat for testimony three times, and other individuals connected to Mr. Musk have also sat for testimony, all without rescheduling or cancelling any of those testimonies.”
Musk’s legal team also mentioned that they had traveled to Los Angeles to attend his deposition last month and “immediately notified the SEC of the emergency” that prevented Musk from appearing. The SEC did not provide comments when approached by the BBC. However, in a court filing, SEC lawyer Robin Andrews urged Judge Corley to take a firm stance against Musk, stating, “The Court must make clear that gamesmanship and delay tactics must cease.”
