Elon Musk’s latest battle: the SEC takes aim over Twitter paperwork delays

Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter has resulted in a federal lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission with allegations that he broke securities laws with a late disclosure which might have helped him save $150 million in the process.

Elon Musk's controversial figure is no stranger to lawsuits and fiery posts about said lawsuits on X. Usually, the billionaire is the one throwing down the gauntlet (like, for example, the lawsuit against OpenAI becoming a for-profit), but this time, he seems to be getting sued himself.

Back in 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. However, the acquisition wasn't straightforward. If you remember, he agreed to buy the social media platform, then backed out of buying it only to be forced to continue with his initial plan a bit later. However, before Musk did all of this, he acquired a substantial stake in the company but seems to not have revealed that fact until weeks later.

The SEC pointed out where an issue occurred: by the time Musk disclosed the stake, it was outside the agency's required 10-day window. According to the SEC's claim, he should've submitted the required documents by March 24, 2022. He did file his paperwork, but on April 4th and then once again on April 5th. During the period of the delay, the agency alleges he purchased more than $500 million in shares of the company.

According to the lawsuit, Musk might have cost investors at least $150 million due to that late disclosure. Allegedly, the billionaire's actions harmed any investors who sold stock between Match 25 and April 1 of 2022. The lawsuit is seeking the money Musk made by not disclosing the stake as required, as well as civil penalties and other punishments.

Of course, with Musk being Musk, this lawsuit is bound to stir up drama. Musk isn't new to legal trouble with his "rules-are-optional" approach to, well, everything. Adding to the chaos is the fact that the SEC is about to get a new leadership with the upcoming Trump administration. Either way, the stakes could be high, and so will be the entertainment value.