Musk Must Testify in SEC Twitter Stock Probe, Judge Signals

(Bloomberg) -- A San Francisco federal judge signaled that Elon Musk should testify about his purchase of Twitter Inc. stock ahead of his $44 billion buyout of the company last year as part of an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Despite the billionaire’s complaint that the agency was harassing him, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler on Thursday asked the two parties to work out an agreement on logistics themselves. If they don’t, she said she would side with the SEC in forcing Musk to testify over share purchases of Twitter, now known as X Corp.

The agency said in October that Musk refused to appear for testimony in September or negotiate another date after previously cooperating.

The SEC is seeking information about Musk’s 2022 purchases of Twitter stock ahead of the acquisition and statements he made about his investments. Last year, the SEC sent Musk a letter asking for information about the delayed disclosure of his Twitter stake, which he reported a week late.

The agency began its investigation in April 2022 and has received thousands of documents, including hundreds from Musk, according to court filings. Musk previously testified twice in July 2022, the SEC said. In his objection to testifying again, Musk cited his two prior interviews for the investigation and “harassment” by the SEC, according to the filing.

The world’s richest person, who has a history of challenging the authority of government regulators, in November lost a bid to stop the Federal Trade Commission from continuing to oversee X Corp.’s handling of private user data. In that case too he alleged harassment.