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Biden-appointed judge reluctantly approves Elon Musk's settlement with SEC over Twitter disclosures
New York Post • • business
Key Points:
- A federal judge approved the SEC’s $1.5 million settlement with Elon Musk over his delayed disclosure of Twitter share purchases, despite expressing serious concerns about the fairness and implications of the deal.
- Judge Sparkle Sooknanan questioned whether the SEC’s settlement, which avoided requiring Musk to forfeit alleged ill-gotten gains, represented special treatment for the billionaire.
- The SEC claimed Musk’s 11-day delay in disclosing his Twitter stake saved him $150 million, but Musk said the delay was inadvertent; he later acquired Twitter for $44 billion and rebranded it as X.
- The judge highlighted potential issues with the SEC’s enforcement approach and raised doubts about whether similar leniency would be shown to other securities-law violators.
- The settlement followed internal SEC leadership changes and was defended by the agency as the largest penalty of its type, including an injunction restricting Musk’s actions through his trust.
