Musk faces regulators' questions over X takeover - but will he show up?

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and owner of Tesla and the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is currently under scrutiny from federal regulators regarding his acquisition of the platform. A federal court has mandated that Musk must answer additional questions from lawyers about his takeover of Twitter during a scheduled meeting on Thursday. The financial community is left wondering whether Musk will actually attend this time, especially since he failed to appear at a previous court-ordered meeting at the SEC's office in Los Angeles last month. This upcoming interview is part of a significant investigation by the SEC into whether Musk delayed disclosing his growing stake in Twitter prior to fully acquiring the company in 2022. Musk has previously acknowledged that this delay was a mistake. The SEC, which is the nation's leading securities regulator, is attempting to compel Musk to attend the meeting on Thursday and has suggested that sanctions could be imposed if he does not comply. For the court hearing on September 10, the SEC reported that it spent considerable resources to send three lawyers—two from San Francisco and one from Washington, D. C. —to conduct a sworn deposition with Musk. However, just three hours before the scheduled appointment, Musk's legal team informed the SEC that he would be unable to attend. According to Musk's lawyers, he had to make an urgent trip to the East Coast for a 'high-risk' launch by his rocket company, SpaceX. Interestingly, SpaceX had announced the timing of the launch two days prior to Musk's deposition date. Furthermore, the day before the meeting, Musk mentioned at a conference that he intended to travel to Florida for the launch, contingent on favorable weather conditions. The SEC claims that Musk did not communicate these plans to them, and the government lawyers only discovered this information after the meeting was canceled. Following the cancellation, the SEC rescheduled the meeting and subsequently requested a federal court to ensure Musk's attendance. Since the SEC initiated its investigation into Musk's $44 billion purchase of Twitter in 2022, he has provided testimony on two occasions. The agency is examining whether Musk's stock purchases prior to the acquisition and his public statements regarding those investments violated securities laws. However, Musk has declined to provide testimony a third time, with his lawyers accusing the SEC of harassment. In October, the SEC filed a motion with the court to compel Musk to testify again. The SEC's lawyers characterized Musk's excuse for missing the previous appointment as 'gamesmanship' in a filing dated September 20. They urged U. S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley to impose a penalty on Musk if he fails to appear at the upcoming meeting, arguing that such a measure is necessary to deter him from 'failing to show up' again. The SEC also noted that Musk was required to seek written consent from them or obtain a court order to reschedule the meeting. In response, Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, from the law firm Quinn Emanuel, asserted that Musk and his companies have cooperated with the SEC throughout this investigation and others. Spiro highlighted that Musk has produced hundreds of documents, has testified twice, and that his wealth manager has also provided testimony on three occasions, along with other individuals connected to Musk, all without rescheduling or canceling any of those testimonies. Musk's legal team emphasized that they had traveled to Los Angeles for the deposition last month and promptly notified the SEC of the emergency situation. The SEC declined to comment when approached by the BBC. However, in a court filing, SEC lawyer Robin Andrews urged U. S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley to take a firm stance against Musk. Andrews wrote that the court must make it clear that 'gamesmanship and delay tactics must cease.