Elon Musk has revealed that he has received a “settlement request” from the SEC headed by Gary Gensler regarding his takeover of Twitter – the latest in a long-running public spat between the billionaire Tesla boss and the agency.
Musk posted a letter from his lawyer, Alex Spiro, to Gensler on Thursday, which said the billionaire had been told to “accept within 48 hours either a monetary payment or face charges on multiple counts.”
“Oh Gary, how could you do this to me?” Musk wrote in an X post that contained a copy of the letter.
In the letter, Spiro said the request related to “certain Twitter stock purchases, sales and disclosures” and was the latest sign of what he called “more than six years of harassment of Mr. Musk by the Commission.” Spiro also revealed that the SEC has “reopened” an investigation into Musk’s brain startup Neuralink.
The SEC sent Musk a settlement offer on Tuesday, but extended the deadline until next Monday after receiving a request for more time, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement, the agency could issue a “Wells notice” ahead of potential enforcement action, CNBC reported, citing a source familiar with the situation.
Spiro suggested that the SEC’s recent actions against Musk may have been politically motivated. The lawyer also said he had declined a request to testify about the situation.
“We demand to know who directed these actions – whether it was you or the White House,” Spiro wrote to Gensler.
In a separate post, Musk shared an AI-generated photo depicting Gensler as a snail-like creature wearing a suit.
“Asked @Grok to draw a picture of @GaryGensler. Very flattering, I think!” Musk wrote.
Musk also took aim at the SEC in another post, writing that it was “just another armed institution doing political dirty work.”
“It is SEC policy to conduct investigations on a confidential basis to maintain the integrity of its investigative process,” an agency spokesman said in a statement. “Therefore, the SEC does not comment on the existence or non-existence of a possible investigation.”
The SEC has been investigating Musk over his actions in 2022 during the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, which he has since renamed X.
Musk revealed in April 2022 that he had bought a 9% stake in Twitter.
The move drew scrutiny from the SEC, which questioned why he had not disclosed the share purchase within 10 days of exceeding the 5% ownership threshold, as required by law.
The SEC also cracked down on Musk in 2018 for the infamous episode in which he claimed he had “secured funds” to take Tesla private at $420 per share.
The deal never materialized.
Musk eventually agreed to a settlement that required him and Tesla to each pay a $20 million fine and for him to step down as chairman of the firm.
The billionaire also entered into a consent decree in which his tweets and other public communications had to be approved in advance by the company’s lawyers.
After years of clashes with federal regulators under the Biden administration, Musk emerged as a top donor adviser to President-elect Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle.
Trump has tapped Musk and his ally Vivek Ramaswamy to co-head the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE, which is tasked with cutting the federal budget and unnecessary regulations.
Investors have taken Musk’s close ties to Trump as a positive sign for his various businesses. Musk’s personal net worth has soared past $400 billion – the highest figure on record.
Gensler — who has regularly clashed with the tech industry for his harsh crackdown on cryptocurrencies — said he would step down as SEC chairman after Trump’s election victory.
Trump has appointed Paul Atkins, a staunch ally of the crypto sector, to replace Gensler.
By postal wire
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