Home / Business and Economy / Musk Fights SEC Lawsuit Over Delayed Twitter Stake Disclosure
Musk Fights SEC Lawsuit Over Delayed Twitter Stake Disclosure
29 Aug
Summary
- Musk filed motion to dismiss SEC lawsuit over late Twitter stake disclosure
- SEC accused Musk of waiting 11 days too long to reveal 5% Twitter stake
- Musk's lawyers say he filed disclosure one day after consulting counsel
In August 2025, billionaire Elon Musk filed a motion to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil lawsuit that accused him of waiting too long to reveal his large stake in social media platform Twitter, now known as X.
The SEC filed the complaint in January 2025, alleging that Musk violated federal securities law by waiting 11 days past the required 10-calendar-day deadline to disclose his initial purchase of a 5% stake in Twitter. The SEC sought to force Musk to pay a civil fine and give up any profits gained from the delayed disclosure.
However, Musk's lawyers argued that the billionaire stopped purchasing additional Twitter shares and filed the disclosure one business day after his wealth manager consulted securities counsel about the potential filing requirements. They stated that the SEC's action against Musk "reveals an agency targeting an individual for his protected criticism of government overreach" and that Musk did not intend any harm.
The SEC claimed that Musk's late disclosure allowed him to buy over $500 million in Twitter shares at artificially low prices before revealing his 9.2% stake on April 4, 2022. Musk faced a deadline to respond to the court by the end of August 2025.
