A judge in the United States has rejected the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request to sanction tech billionaire Elon Musk for not attending a meeting with the regulator to watch one of his rocket launches. Mr Musk was ordered by a court to meet with SEC officials in September to testify as part of the regulator’s investigation into its US$44 billion acquisition of X (Twitter at the time).
On Friday, US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said there was no need to sanction the billionaire’s absence as he stood down in Los Angeles on September 10 to reimburse the SEC for covering the airfare of three agency lawyers. But agreed.
Mr Musk eventually complied with the order and met with SEC lawyers to testify on October 3.
“Since the current circumstances prevent any opportunity for meaningful relief that could be granted by the court, the SEC’s request is pending consideration,” Corley wrote in the order.
The order said merely repaying travel costs would not prevent many others from ignoring court orders, “much less one of Mr. Musk’s extraordinary means.”
According to a Bloomberg report, the SEC urged a federal judge to impose sanctions on Mr Musk to remind him that violating its order was not a “trivial matter”.
However, the report said Mr Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, disputed the claim and argued that the billionaire’s failure to appear for testimony was justified because he had an immediate obligation as the head of SpaceX, and He had to travel to Florida for this. Cape Canaveral launch of a rocket on a commercial spacewalk mission.
Mr. Spiro argued that his client’s voluntary offer to reimburse the agency US$2,923 was sufficient. According to Forbes magazine, Mr Musk’s wealth is US $ 321.7 billion.
No statement from Mr Musk’s lawyers or the SEC was available at the time of filing this story.
market regulator investigation
The SEC is investigating whether Musk — whose businesses include electric car maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX and who is the world’s richest person — violated securities laws, expected to disclose in early 2022. Had to wait for at least 10 long days for them to start accumulating Twitter stock. ,
Critics and some investors have said this gave him the opportunity to buy shares cheaply, before he ultimately disclosed the 9.2 percent Twitter stake, and offered to buy the entire company shortly thereafter.
In July, Mr Musk said he had misunderstood SEC disclosure rules and that “all indications” suggested he had made a “mistake”.
The SEC also sued Mr Musk in 2018 over his Twitter posts about taking Tesla private. He settled that lawsuit by paying a US$20 million fine, allowing Tesla lawyers to review some posts in advance, and resigning as Tesla chairman.
