Sat Nov 23 12:39:16 UTC 2024: ## Judge Rejects SEC Sanctions Against Elon Musk for Missed Deposition
**San Francisco, CA** – A US District Judge has rejected the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request to sanction Elon Musk for missing a scheduled deposition in September. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, skipped the meeting to attend a SpaceX rocket launch.
Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled that sanctions were unnecessary because Musk subsequently reimbursed the SEC for the travel expenses of three agency lawyers who traveled to Los Angeles for the deposition, totaling $2,923. The deposition was eventually conducted on October 3rd.
The SEC argued that Musk’s actions constituted a disregard for court orders, and that a lack of sanctions would set a poor precedent. However, Judge Corley stated that the reimbursement rendered the SEC’s request moot, noting that the financial penalty, even for someone of Musk’s considerable wealth ($321.7 billion according to Forbes), wouldn’t serve as a sufficient deterrent.
Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, defended his client’s absence, citing the urgent nature of the SpaceX rocket launch as a justified reason for missing the deposition.
This deposition is part of the SEC’s ongoing investigation into whether Musk violated securities laws in early 2022 by delaying the disclosure of his Twitter stock accumulation. Critics allege this allowed him to purchase shares at a lower price before publicly revealing his 9.2% stake and subsequent takeover bid. Musk has claimed he misunderstood SEC disclosure rules.
This is not Musk’s first encounter with the SEC. In 2018, he settled a lawsuit with the agency regarding his tweets about taking Tesla private, paying a $20 million fine and agreeing to pre-approval of certain Tesla-related social media posts. Neither Musk’s legal team nor the SEC have yet commented publicly on the judge’s decision.
First Piper 