Current SEC chair cast only vote against suing Elon Musk, report says

SEC v. Musk still moving ahead

Before Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, he purchased a 9 percent stake in the company and failed to disclose it within 10 days as required under US law. "Defendant Elon Musk failed to timely file with the SEC a beneficial ownership report disclosing his acquisition of more than five percent of the outstanding shares of Twitter's common stock in March 2022, in violation of the federal securities laws," the SEC said in the January 2025 lawsuit filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia. "As a result, Musk was able to continue purchasing shares at artificially low prices, allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his beneficial ownership report was due."

The SEC lawsuit against Musk is still moving forward, at least for now. Musk last week received a summons giving him 21 days to respond, according to a court filing.

Enforcement priorities are expected to change under the Trump administration, of course. Trump's pick to replace Gensler, Paul Atkins, is waiting for Senate confirmation. Atkins testified to Congress in 2019 that the SEC should reduce its disclosure requirements.

Trump last month issued an executive order declaring sweeping power over independent agencies, including the SEC, Federal Trade Commission, and Federal Communications Commission. Trump also fired both FTC Democrats despite a US law and Supreme Court precedent stating that the president cannot fire commission members without good cause.

Another Trump executive order targets the alleged "weaponization of the federal government" and ordered an investigation into Biden-era enforcement actions taken by the SEC, FTC, and Justice Department. The Trump order's language recalls Musk's oft-repeated claim that the SEC was "harassing" him.