On Saturday night, US magistrate judge Laurel Beeler ordered Elon Musk to testify again in the US Securities and Exchange Commission's probe of his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.
The federal judge gave Musk a week to agree on a date and location for the interview.
Beeler Orders Musk To Testify
Beeler's order on Saturday night formalized a tentative ruling she made in December that supported the regulator.
In October, the SEC filed a lawsuit to force Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA.O), to appear in court as part of an investigation into his 2022 purchase of Twitter. The SEC alleged that Musk declined to attend an interview about the investigation in September.
The agency looks into whether Musk followed the law when he filed the required documents about his purchases of Twitter stock and whether his claims regarding the transaction were misleading.
Musk resisted the SEC's request for an interview, claiming that the agency had previously spoken to him twice and accused the regulator of harassment.
Beeler rejected Musk's claim and said that the SEC had the authority to issue the subpoena, which requested relevant information. Furthermore, she said that she would hear from both sides and decide if the SEC and Musk could not agree on a date and time for the interview.
Friction between Musk and the SEC began when the agency sued him in 2018 for tweeting "funding secured" about a potential plan to take Tesla private. Musk consented that a Tesla attorney would review his remarks regarding the electric vehicle manufacturer on Twitter to resolve the case.
However, the SEC sued him again in 2019 for allegedly breaching that provision.
Musk claimed that the arrangement infringed on his constitutional right to free speech and has requested the US Supreme Court to examine it.
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KRAKOW, POLAND - JANUARY 22: SpaceX, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during a live interview with Ben Shapiro at the symposium on fighting antisemitism on January 22, 2024, in Krakow, Poland. The symposium on anti-semitism, organized by the European Jewish Association, was held ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.
Musk Breaks Silence Over Supplying Starlink To Russia
Musk disclosed his plans to give Russia access to the Starlink satellite used by Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.
On Sunday, he wrote, "A number of false news reports claim that SpaceX is selling Starlink terminals to Russia. To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia."
He was asked if his satellite technology Starlink can be activated from Russia. The world's richest person responded, "Starlink satellites will not close the link in Russia."
The 52-year-old made his comments in response to Ukraine's allegations that Vladimir Putin's forces are requesting assistance from Starlink satellites while fighting Kyiv.
Thousands of people have died, and millions have been displaced due to the ongoing standoff between the two countries since Russia started its special military operation against Ukraine in February 2022.
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