Elon Musk got off with $2,923 for failing to appear to testify in Twitter acquisition case

Elon Musk’s 2022 Twitter acquisition trial is ongoing, and the billionaire was scheduled to testify in front of SEC lawyers on September 10, but he failed to show up at the scheduled time. , and gave testimony only on October 3. For failure to appear for the first interrogation, the court imposed a symbolic fine of $2,923 on him.

Image source: X, Elon Musk

This money, as Reuters explains with reference to the decision of District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco, should cover the travel expenses of SEC representatives, which they incurred on October 3 to meet with Musk. There are no additional sanctions, although the SEC has requested them. The prosecution also demanded that Musk violate a May 31 court order that required him to testify on September 10. That day, Musk did not show up for the SEC’s off-site meeting, later citing the need for his presence at the SpaceX launch pad.

The judge also noted that forcing Musk to pay only the travel expenses of SEC representatives would not encourage defendants in other cases to ignore the court’s demands, since it is rare for a person to demonstrate such extraordinary behavior. According to Musk’s representatives, he complied with the court’s requirements by appearing to testify on October 3. Let’s remember that the SEC accuses him of disclosing too late information about the appearance of a large block of shares in Twitter in the spring of 2022, when he admitted his intentions to buy this company, which he later acquired and renamed X.