Elon Musk has resolved a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly delaying the disclosure of his initial Twitter purchases, now known as X. A trust in Musk’s name will pay a $1.5 million US civil fine as part of the settlement revealed in a Washington, D.C., federal court filing on Monday.
Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, neither admitted wrongdoing nor forfeited any of the $150 million he purportedly saved due to the delayed disclosure. The settlement is subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who previously dismissed Musk’s attempt to have the case dismissed in February.
The resolution concludes a prolonged legal battle that began in September 2018 when the SEC accused Musk of securities fraud for tweeting about securing funding to potentially take Tesla private. Musk settled that case by paying a $20 million civil fine, allowing Tesla lawyers to pre-approve certain Twitter posts, and relinquishing his position as Tesla’s chairman.
Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, stated, “Mr. Musk has now been cleared of all issues related to the late filing of forms in the Twitter acquisition, as we said from the outset he would be.” The SEC declined to provide any comments on the matter.
In the January 2025 lawsuit, the SEC alleged that Musk’s 11-day delay in disclosing his initial five percent stake in Twitter allowed him to purchase over $500 million worth of shares at artificially low prices before eventually revealing a 9.2 percent stake. The SEC contended that Musk should pay a civil fine and return the $150 million he allegedly gained at the expense of unsuspecting investors.
Musk defended the delay as inadvertent and accused the SEC of infringing on his freedom of speech. The SEC filed the lawsuit six days before former U.S. president Joe Biden left office, with the current SEC Chairman Paul Atkins refocusing the regulator’s enforcement priorities.
Robert Frenchman, a partner at the Dynamis law firm, described the $1.5 million penalty as a “modest sum for the richest person on the planet” but noted that it could serve as a deterrent against similar violations by others. Musk completed the $44 billion Twitter acquisition in October 2022, integrating Twitter into his artificial intelligence company xAI and subsequently merging xAI into his rocket company SpaceX. According to Forbes magazine, Musk’s net worth is $789.9 billion.
The settlement discussions began on March 17, a day after SEC enforcement chief Margaret Ryan abruptly resigned from her position following disagreements with other agency leaders over enforcement matters. The case is separate from another civil lawsuit where a San Francisco jury found Musk liable on March 20 for defrauding Twitter shareholders following the acquisition announcement.
Shareholders in that case alleged that Musk’s statements caused a decline in Twitter’s stock price, leading to losses when they sold shares at reduced prices. Musk’s legal team seeks to dismiss the case or request a new trial, citing bias and prejudice against the defendant.
Despite overseeing multiple companies with government-related interests and facing various regulatory investigations, Musk spearheaded cost-cutting efforts during the second Trump administration in early 2025 through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative before resuming his private sector activities.
Recently, Musk testified in a federal court in Oakland, California, for seven hours across three days in a lawsuit involving OpenAI, a project he claims as his brainchild. Musk alleges that OpenAI transitioned into a for-profit entity, deviating from its charitable objectives, and seeks damages of $150 million along with the removal of OpenAI co-founders Greg Brockman and CEO Sam Altman from the organization’s leadership.