Elon Musk is seeking to block the Securities and Exchange Commission from calling him to testify in their investigation into his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, the social media company now known as X.
Musk filed objections on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, where the SEC sued him on Oct. 5 to compel him to testify in its investigation that was launched in April 2022. The mogul's lawyers said via Reuters that the subpoena exceeds the agency's investigative authority and seeks "irrelevant evidence."
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The SEC is investigating whether Musk violated securities laws concerning the October 2022 purchase of X. He was summoned to testify last month but failed to appear for testimony in San Francisco. Musk attempted to justify his refusal to testify for various reasons, including his objection to San Francisco as a proper testimony location.
The commission claimed it attempted to find alternative times and dates to meet with Musk, but the billionaire refused all of them.
On Thursday, attorney Alex Spiro and Musk's other lawyers said in the filing that the SEC’s "pursuit of Mr. Musk has crossed the line into harassment." Spiro also called the investigation "misguided."
The Twitter CEO closed on the $44 billion deal in late October 2022 after initially trying to back out. Musk has given the SEC certain documents relating to the investigation and provided testimony in July last year via a video conference, the SEC said in a court filing. But SEC attorneys said they have more questions for Musk after seeing the documents.
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Spiro said the SEC has issued 32 subpoenas in the investigation, and Musk and others have been interviewed seven times. Musk alone has received five subpoenas for documents and another three for testimony, his attorney said in a court filing.
The SEC has spent 18 months "devoting its formidable resources to investigating Mr. Musk over an allegedly untimely filing," the court filings said. "This is just the latest chapter in a more-than-five-year saga of agency harassment against Mr. Musk and related entities."