Elon Musk has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a civil lawsuit regarding the delayed disclosure of his initial Twitter purchases, now rebranded as X. As part of the agreement disclosed in a Washington, D.C., federal court on Monday, a trust in Musk’s name will pay a $1.5 million US civil fine.
Although Musk did not admit any wrongdoing, he will not be required to forfeit any of the $150 million he was purportedly saved due to the delay. The settlement is contingent on approval from U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who previously denied Musk’s attempt to dismiss the case in February.
This resolution brings an end to over seven years of contentious disputes between Musk and the regulatory body. The legal battles commenced in September 2018 when the SEC accused Musk of securities fraud for claiming he had secured funding to potentially privatize his electric car company, Tesla, via a tweet.
Musk settled the previous case by paying a $20 million civil fine, allowing Tesla’s attorneys to review certain Twitter posts in advance, and relinquishing his role as Tesla’s chairman.
In a statement, Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, emphasized that Musk has now been vindicated of all issues related to the delayed filing of forms in the Twitter acquisition, as anticipated. The SEC declined to provide any comments on the matter.
The SEC’s lawsuit in January 2025 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 finally revealing a 9.2 percent stake. The SEC contended that Musk should pay a civil fine and reimburse the $150 million he purportedly saved at the expense of unsuspecting investors.
Musk attributed the delay to an oversight and accused the SEC of infringing on his freedom of speech rights by singling him out. The lawsuit was filed by the SEC just before former U.S. President Joe Biden’s term ended, with Paul Atkins, the current SEC Chairman, refocusing the regulator’s enforcement priorities.
The $1.5 million penalty imposed on Musk was described by Robert Frenchman, a partner at the Dynamis law firm in New York, as a “modest sum for the richest person on the planet” but could serve as a deterrent against similar violations.
Musk finalized the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, subsequently integrating Twitter into his artificial intelligence company xAI, and later merging xAI into his rocket company SpaceX. According to Forbes magazine, Musk’s net worth is estimated at $789.9 billion.
The article further mentions ongoing discussions for a settlement between both parties, as well as a separate civil suit involving Musk’s alleged fraudulent actions toward Twitter shareholders, resulting in damages estimated at $2.5 billion. Musk’s legal team has sought the dismissal of this case or a new trial, citing bias and prejudice in the verdict.
Despite his involvement in various companies with government dealings and facing multiple regulatory investigations, Musk led a cost-cutting initiative during the second Trump administration before returning to his private sector activities. Recently, Musk testified in federal court in Oakland, California, for seven hours over three days regarding a lawsuit concerning OpenAI, which he claims was his brainchild. Musk alleges that OpenAI wrongfully transitioned into a for-profit entity and abandoned its charitable objectives, seeking damages of $150 million and the removal of certain leaders from the organization.