Elon Musk Ordered to Testify in Twitter Probe Involving Birds

Elon Musk has been ordered by a federal court in California to appear before the US Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to his acquisition of Twitter, as part of an investigation into potential breaches of federal securities laws.

The court found that the evidence collected is material and relevant to the SEC’s investigation, and the testimony required of Musk is not unduly burdensome, the court ruling released Friday said. The parties were ordered to meet within a week and decide on a date and place for testimony.

Musk had testified before the SEC twice in half-day sessions in July 2022. But the agency, which has since received “thousands of new documents” from various parties, including some written by Musk, wants to ask him for new information. Musk’s lawyer agreed to testify with the SEC last September before asking to postpone the meeting for the day and later refusing to appear, according to Friday’s filing.

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The SEC is looking for information about Musk’s purchases of Twitter shares before the acquisition of the company.

The CEO and co-founder of Tesla, whose purchase of Twitter, now known as X, was completed in October 2022, disputes the basis of the SEC’s investigation, calling it baseless and claiming it is seeking irrelevant information, court filings say.

Musk also argues that the subpoena exceeds the SEC’s authority because it was issued by an SEC employee appointed by the agency’s chief enforcement officer, not an official appointed by the president, a court or a federal department head. The court denied this on Friday, saying that the subpoena is authorized under the Exchange Act.

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