US regulator seeks court order to compel Elon Musk to testify about his Twitter acquisition

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday applied for a court order to force Elon Musk to testify in an ongoing probe related to his acquisition of Twitter and public disclosures he made in connection with the deal, according to court filings.

The filing Thursday in San Francisco federal court seeks a judge's order requiring Musk to testify, alleging "blatant refusal to comply" with an earlier SEC subpoena.

X, the company formerly known as Twitter, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The SEC action is the latest turn in a long-running inquiry into whether Musk fully complied with his disclosure obligations when he began acquiring large amounts of Twitter stock, prior to his deal to buy the company. And it underscores years of friction between Musk and the agency over his public comments on numerous matters involving his companies.

Musk began buying up large amounts of Twitter stock in early 2022, and he revealed on April 4 of that year that he had become the company's largest shareholder. Later that month, Musk inked a deal to buy the platform for $44 billion and - after a monthslong legal battle attempting to exit the deal - officially closed the acquisition in October of last year. Musk has faced a number of legal challenges related to his Twitter acquisition in the months since his takeover.

Musk testified twice as part of the SEC's investigation in July 2022, according to the agency.

Starting that same month, Musk produced "hundreds of documents" to federal investigators working on the probe, "including documents Musk authored," according to a declaration by an SEC attorney filed alongside the agency's court request.