The investigation — which escalates a long-running feud between the SEC and Musk — concerns whether Musk broke federal securities laws in 2022 when he bought stock in Twitter, which Musk renamed X, as well as statements and SEC filings he made in relation to the deal.
The SEC said it subpoenaed Musk in May 2023 requiring him to provide testimony at the SEC’s San Francisco office, and that Musk had agreed to appear on Sept. 15. But then two days beforehand Musk raised “several spurious objections” and told the SEC he would not appear, the SEC said. Musk also refused to SEC proposals to conduct the deposition in Texas in October or November.
Among his objections was that the SEC was trying to “harass” him and that his counsel needed time to review potentially relevant material contained in a biography of Musk published last month, the SEC said.
The SEC is suing to get a court order to compel his testimony in an investigation. Assuming the court grants that order, which is likely, he will be forced to cooperate with the SEC or face the prospect of sitting in jail for contempt of court.