Elon Musk’s $2.9K Offer Rejected by SEC, Agency Asks Judge to Punish Billionaire for Failed to Testify – Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refused Elon Musk‘s offer to pay $2,923 for failing to make a deposition related to his Twitter purchase in 2022. The SEC is now calling for sanctions against the billionaire.

What happened: The SEC is investigating whether Elon Musk or his associates committed securities fraud in 2022 when Musk sold Tesla shares and increased his stake in Twitternow renamed to XBloomberg reported on Tuesday.

After missing statements, Musk suggested covering the travel expenses of the three SEC lawyers who flew to Los Angeles for the meeting.

In a statement of claim filed Friday, the SEC argued that simply requiring Musk to cover travel expenses would not deter others from violating court orders. Given Musk’s significant financial resources, the agency argued that tougher measures were needed to hold him accountable for missing his scheduled testimony in September.

Musk, currently the richest person in the world with a net worth of $276.5 billion, initially declined to take part in a third round of surveys. However, he ultimately agreed to meet with SEC lawyers and gave a deposition on October 3.

See also: Lucid CEO throws cold water on Tesla’s robotaxi vision, saying self-driving cars won’t come to market until the 2030s.

Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro expressed doubts about the court’s ability to consider a sanctions request, noting that Musk had already agreed to comply with the measures requested by the SEC.

Why it matters: Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a 2018 SEC settlement after Musk claimed that funding for Tesla’s privatization was “secured,” which the SEC said was false. In May, Musk was ordered by the court to appear at a testimony from financial regulators about the Twitter deal.

However, the tech billionaire failed to appear before the SEC twice.

In September, the SEC prepared to reprimand Musk for his absence at a scheduled hearing in the same case. Musk’s lawyer told the SEC that Musk urgently needed to travel to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the launch of SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn, thereby missing the deposition.

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