The Securities and Exchange Commission accused X owner Elon Musk of “gamesmanship” to stall its investigation into his takeover of Twitter.
In a court filing Wednesday, the SEC claimed that Mr. Musk and his lawyers are distorting the commission’s probe and trying to wiggle his way out of court-ordered testimony.
“Musk continues to distort the true scope of this investigation,” the SEC wrote in its filing, “his only hope for establishing that the SEC is not seeking relevant evidence.”
The source of the SEC’s frustration is a two-year investigation into Mr. Musk’s 2022 purchase of what was then known as Twitter. The regulators are looking for possible violations of securities law and discrepancies in his disclosures to the commission.
Last year, the SEC sued Mr. Musk to force him to testify as part of the investigation. The commission won that suit, and a federal judge ruled that he had to schedule an interview with the SEC last month. That interview hasn’t happened.
The proceedings have been made more complicated after the 2023 publishing of Walter Isaacson’s “Elon Musk” biography, which reveals more details about the acquisition that the SEC claims are important.
The SEC investigation is another legal headache for Mr. Musk and X. He is in the throes of a battle with OpenAI, accusing the startup of betraying its founding principles. And former X employees are suing the company for alleged unpaid benefits and salary.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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