NEW YORK, The U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission ( US SEC) of the United States sought a federal judge on Thursday to compel billionaire Elon Musk to testify in its probe into his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, now known as X.
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The SEC defended its efforts to compel Musk’s testimony in a filing filed in federal court in San Francisco on Thursday, arguing agency officials are operating within their jurisdiction.
The SEC announced last month that it was looking into Musk’s 2022 acquisitions of stock in Twitter, which he later renamed X, as well as his claims and SEC filings regarding his takeover of the social media behemoth.
According to the SEC, Musk refused to attend a September interview for the investigation.
Musk and his lawyers requested the judge on Nov. 2 to deny the SEC’s motion to compel his testimony, arguing that Musk had already testified twice and that the agency was exceeding its power.
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However, the SEC denied those assertions on Thursday, stating that agency officials are legally authorized to collect testimony and documents as part of their investigation.
The SEC has already stated that additional papers in the inquiry had been received since their last interview.
The court case is the latest squabble in the fractious relationship between the United States market regulator and the world’s richest person.
