SEC’s Request to Sanction Elon Musk Hits the Wall: US Court Rejects

A federal judge Elon Musk, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Twitter’s $44 billion acquisition within the scope of investigation for failing to attend court-mandated testimony. He rejected the request for sanctions.

U.S. District Judge in San Francisco Jacqueline Scott Corley, He stated that additional sanctions were not needed because Musk, who did not attend the court on September 10, testified on October 3 and the SEC paid $2,923 in travel expenses.

Corley used the following statements in his decision:

The current situation does not provide any justification for the court to impose a meaningful sanction decision. Therefore, the SEC’s request has become meaningless.

What Happened in the Background of the Case?

SEC, Musk Twitter It is investigating whether he acted in accordance with the law when explaining the process by which he collected his shares. Allegedly, Musk in early 2022 Twitter is at least 10 days too late to announce that it has started picking up its shares. It is claimed that this situation gives Musk an unfair advantage by keeping share prices low.

Musk acknowledged in July that he misunderstood the SEC’s reporting rules and that this was a mistake. “All indications confirm that this was a mistake,” Musk said.

This investigation It also brought up Musk’s past fight with the SEC again. In 2018, Musk said About plans to delist Tesla He was sued by the SEC due to his Twitter posts. He settled this case by paying a $20 million penalty and resigning as Tesla chairman.

He also agreed to have Tesla lawyers review certain Twitter posts in advance.

SEC Criticizes Situation: Musk Is a Dangerous Example

The SEC had requested a declaration of violation after Musk failed to attend court-ordered deposition in May. The SEC also noted that simply making people pay for travel expenses would not be a deterrent and For an extremely wealthy person like Musk, this would be an ineffective measure. He argued that it was. Musk’s net worth ForbesAccording to , it is 321.7 billion dollars.

Musk stated that he complied with the court order and testified on October 3. The lack of participation on September 10th Florida Cape Canaveral’da SpaceX’in Polaris Dawn He explained that he was there to manage his mission.

SEC, on the other hand, criticized Musk’s behavior for non-compliance with court orders He described it as a dangerous example.