The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to seek sanctions against billionaire Elon Musk, following a probe into potential violations related to his takeover of Twitter.
SEC announced on Friday that it plans to pursue fines against the Space X CEO following his nonattendance at court-mandated testimony sessions related to the regulator's investigation into his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
The commission stated in a federal court filing in San Francisco that the sanctions motion will ask for an order to demonstrate why Musk shouldn't be found in civil contempt for not informing his intended witness three hours prior to the testimony on September 10 that he would not be there.
Musk, whose companies include electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, travelled to Cape Canaveral, Florida, that day to supervise SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission launch.
The SEC countered that since the business had discussed the planned launch two days prior, Musk, as chief technical officer of SpaceX, "surely was already aware" of it.
The court order forcing Musk to testify on May 31 was allegedly violated by his conduct.
As per lawyer Robin Andrews' words, "Musk's excuse itself smacks of gamesmanship," adding, "The court must make clear that Musk’s gamesmanship and delay tactics must cease."
Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, described the penalties as "drastic" and "necessary," claiming that Musk's withdrawal from the launch might have put astronauts' lives in jeopardy and that his testimony has been rescheduled for October 3.
