SEC resumes investigation into Neuralink

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week renewed its scrutiny of Elon Musk’s startup Neuralink, which is developing chips to control electronics with mental commands. The businessman reported this on the social network X, attaching a copy of the letter addressed to the head of the department.

Image source: neuralink.com

A letter dated December 12 from Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, to soon-to-be-outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler also said Musk was given 48 hours to agree to a monetary settlement of the commission’s claims. otherwise, the businessman will face charges related to his actions in purchasing Twitter (now X).

Musk has a long history of confrontation with the SEC; Last year, four lawmakers asked the commission to conduct a review to determine whether Musk committed securities fraud and misled investors about the safety of Neuralink brain implants. In the letter, Mr. Spiro noted that the SEC will not be able to intimidate either him or Musk – they retain the rights guaranteed to them by law.

In November, a federal judge rejected the SEC’s request for sanctions against Musk after the businessman failed to comply with a court order and did not appear to testify as part of the investigation into the Twitter takeover, during which he may have violated securities laws in 2022. In 2018, the commission sued him over Musk’s tweets about the privatization of Tesla. To settle the lawsuit, he paid a $20 million fine, resigned from his position on Tesla’s board of directors and allowed company lawyers to review some of his social media posts before publication.