Elon Musk has asked a federal judge to throw out a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit accusing him of failing to promptly disclose his multibillion-dollar stake in Twitter, now known as X.
The SEC filed its complaint in January in Washington, D.C., federal court, alleging Musk violated securities law by waiting 11 days past the required deadline to report that he had crossed the 5% ownership threshold in March 2022. The regulator is seeking civil penalties and repayment of profits it says Musk gained by buying shares at suppressed prices.
In a motion filed Thursday, Musk’s legal team argued he submitted the disclosure as soon as possible after his wealth manager consulted with securities counsel, noting he stopped purchasing additional shares in the interim. His lawyers stressed that Musk’s filing error was a “single late form, corrected immediately” and that the SEC itself admitted there was no intentional or reckless misconduct.
They further accused the SEC of pursuing the case as retaliation for Musk’s outspoken criticism of government overreach, calling the lawsuit “an attempt to target a political opponent rather than protect investors.”
The SEC contends Musk quietly accumulated more than $500 million in Twitter stock before revealing on April 4, 2022, that he had amassed a 9.2% stake. By delaying disclosure, the agency argues, Musk was able to buy shares at artificially low prices, reaping unlawful gains.
The case was filed on January 14, just days before President Donald Trump reappointed Musk as a White House special adviser on federal workforce and spending issues.
Musk’s latest clash with regulators adds to a fraught history with the SEC, which sued him in 2018 over his tweets about taking Tesla private. That case ended in a settlement requiring him to step down as Tesla’s chairman and pay fines, though disputes over his compliance have flared repeatedly.
The SEC has yet to comment on Musk’s motion. The court will now decide whether the case proceeds or is dismissed at this early stage.
