Scrutiny of Elon Musk’s Twitter moves intensifies in Washington
Elon Musk’s bid to buy
Twitter is facing more scrutiny in Washington following a report that the US
Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) is probing whether he broke rules last month when disclosing a large stake in the social media platform.
The Wall Street Journal reported on May 11 that the
SEC is investigating Musk’s submission of a form that investors must file when they accumulate more than
5% of a company. The Federal Trade Commission is also reviewing the bid by the world’s richest person to take Twitter private.
Musk disclosed on April 4 that he acquired more than 9% in the company, a week later than regulations allow and by using a filing typically reserved for passive investors. He has since embarked on a highly-public takeover bid.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment on the Journal report. Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Inquiries by the SEC do not always lead to the regulator taking action.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been pressing to tighten rules for how investors must disclose they have taken a major stake in a company. He has called for more transparency, and earlier this year proposed cutting the maximum time that an investor has to reveal they would have taken a significant position.
Over the years, the SEC has repeatedly sparred with the Tesla CEO and was already investigating whether he and his brother violated insider trading rules when selling shares in the electric automaker late last year — something Musk has denied. He is also fighting the regulator in court over fallout from his infamous tweet that he had secured funding to take Tesla private.
Musk, who reached an agreement to acquire Twitter for roughly US$44 billion late last month, has said the San Francisco-based company has restricted user speech and wants to push it toward a more free-speech approach. —