'lawfare Needs To Stop': Elon Musk Responds To Sec Lawsuit Accusing Him Of Underpaying For Twitter, Now X

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is accusing Elon Musk of underpaying for Twitter by astatine slightest $150 cardinal erstwhile he purchased it for $44 cardinal successful 2022 and later rebranded it to X successful 2023. Now Musk is taking to nan very aforesaid level nether scrutiny, X, to push backmost against nan SEC's allegations.

In a title revenge against Musk connected Tuesday successful nan U.S. District Court for nan District of Columbia, nan SEC alleges that Musk achieved a ample Twitter banal position without filling retired nan owed paperwork successful time.

Musk amassed a liking successful Twitter of greater than 5% of outstanding shares by March 14, 2022, but allegedly grounded to study his ownership position to nan SEC incorrect 10 almanac days, aliases by March 24, 2022.

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According to nan complaint, he waited eleven days aft nan deadline to grounds nan report.

Elon Musk. Photo by Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images

When Musk was allegedly delaying filing nan paperwork, he bought $500 cardinal worthy of Twitter stock. The SEC accused Musk of buying banal "at artificially debased prices from nan unsuspecting public" by knowing that if nan nationalist knew astir his stake, Twitter's banal worth mightiness spell up and he could beryllium required to net overmuch for nan aforesaid number of shares.

Musk revenge nan SEC style connected April 4, 2022, and Twitter's banal worth jumped by overmuch than 27%. By not filing a study pinch nan SEC by nan time he was required to, nan SEC estimated that Musk underpaid erstwhile buying Twitter by astatine slightest $150 million.

"Had Musk publically disclosed his Twitter holdings by filing a beneficial ownership study pinch nan SEC by March 24, 2022, arsenic required, Twitter's banal worth would apt personification accrued substantially astatine that point, alternatively of connected April 4, 2022," nan SEC's title reads.

Related: Jeff Bezos Dines astatine Mar-a-Lago With Donald Trump and Elon Musk

The SEC asked for Musk to net a civilian reward arsenic bully arsenic "disgorgement of his sadistic enrichment."

Elon Musk Responds to nan SEC

In a station connected X connected Tuesday, Musk criticized nan SEC, calling it a "totally room organization."

"They locomotion their clip connected s--- for illustration this erstwhile location are truthful galore existent crimes that spell unpunished," he wrote.

Musk besides wrote connected Wednesday that "lawfare needs to stop," and accused Democrats of taking ineligible action against citizens alternatively of "fighting existent crime."

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2025

The SEC will soon personification caller leadership. Its existent chair, Gary Gensler, will measurement down erstwhile President-elect Donald Trump takes agency connected Monday, per nan New York Times. It's unclear whether nan commission's caller activity will prosecute ineligible action against Musk.

Musk will personification a domiciled successful Trump's government. In November, Trump appointed Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy arsenic nan co-leads of a caller Department of Government Efficiency aimed astatine downsizing nan U.S. government.

Musk is worthy $427 cardinal astatine nan clip of writing, according to nan Bloomberg Billionaires Index.