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Musk Reaches $1.5 Million SEC Settlement Over Late Twitter Stake Disclosure

The deal ends the late‑disclosure case without forcing repayment of the gains the SEC alleged.

Overview

  • Musk’s team and the SEC disclosed Monday in Washington, D.C., that the Elon Musk Revocable Trust will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty with no admission of wrongdoing, pending approval by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan.
  • U.S. rules require investors to reveal when they pass 5% ownership within 10 days, and the SEC said Musk filed 11 days late in 2022 after crossing that threshold in Twitter stock.
  • The regulator alleged the delay let Musk keep buying shares before the market adjusted, which it estimated saved him about $150 million that he will not have to return under the deal.
  • A person familiar with the settlement said this is the largest SEC penalty for this specific filing violation, while some former officials criticized the sum as modest for Musk.
  • The enforcement action stands apart from a March jury verdict in San Francisco that found Musk liable to Twitter shareholders over his buyout comments, which his lawyers plan to appeal.