Elon Musk settles SEC lawsuit over delayed Twitter stake disclosure, pays $1.5m penalty

Elon Musk has settled a civil lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that he delayed disclosing his early purchases of Twitter shares in 2022, according to court filings made public Monday. 

Under the agreement, a trust linked to the billionaire will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty without admitting wrongdoing.

The SEC had accused Musk of waiting 11 days beyond the legal deadline to reveal that he had crossed the 5% ownership threshold in Twitter (now X). 

Regulators said the delay allowed him to buy more than $500 million worth of additional shares at lower prices before publicly disclosing a 9.2% stake.

According to the agency’s complaint, the late filing helped Musk avoid paying roughly $150 million more for the stock as Twitter’s share price surged after his disclosure. 

The regulator had initially sought a larger penalty and repayment of the alleged gains, but the final settlement requires only the fine and remains subject to court approval.

Musk denied intentional wrongdoing, calling the delay inadvertent. His attorney, Alex Spiro, said the settlement clears him of all issues tied to the filing dispute.

The case marks another chapter in Musk’s long-running clashes with the SEC. Musk later completed Twitter’s $44 billion takeover in October 2022 and subsequently rebranded the platform as X.