If Elon Musk continues to evade Twitter depositions, the SEC recommends imposing sanctions on him.

• Elon Musk may face sanctions from the SEC if he continues to disregard the court's order to appear for a deposition in the investigation of his 2022 Twitter acquisition.
• On Friday, the federal agency filed a complaint stating that Musk canceled a scheduled deposition at the last minute, resulting in a loss of time and money for the SEC.
• In 2022, the SEC investigated whether Musk or anyone working with him committed securities fraud while selling Tesla shares and increasing his stake in Twitter.

Elon Musk may face sanctions from the Securities and Exchange Commission if he continues to disregard the court's order to appear for a deposition in the investigation of his 2022 Twitter acquisition.

In 2022, the SEC investigated whether Musk or anyone working with him committed securities fraud while he sold shares in his automaker and increased his stake in Twitter, prior to his leveraged buyout of the company now known as X.

In May, the financial regulators ordered Musk to appear for a deposition regarding the Twitter deal.

Robin Andrews, SEC attorney, stated in a Friday filing that Elon Musk has twice failed to appear before the SEC: first in September 2023, in disregard of a lawful administrative subpoena, and last week, in disregard of a clear court order.

According to the filing, the judge should consider sanctions if Musk further delays, as requested by Andrews.

Andrews wrote that the Court should make it clear that Musk's gamesmanship and delay tactics must stop.

The SEC disclosed in a footnote that it plans to seek a court order to hold Musk in "civil contempt" for canceling a deposition on Sept. 10, giving the agency only a few hours notice that he would not appear. As a result, the SEC lost time and money after sending personnel to Los Angeles to depose him, but he did not appear for the investigative interview.

The rescheduled date for Musk's deposition in the probe at an SEC office is in early October, as stated in the filing.

"If the Court does not take any additional action, Musk will continue to fail to appear on that date," Andrews stated.

Alex Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel in New York and Musk's attorney, stated in a response that taking such drastic action would be inappropriate. He added that the SEC and Musk had agreed that rescheduling was permissible in light of an emergency.

Musk and his companies have cooperated with the SEC in multiple ongoing investigations, according to Spiro.

The Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System has accused Musk of hiding his investments in Twitter and plans to acquire the company in a federal court lawsuit in New York.

The lawyers representing the pension fund contend that Musk's failure to disclose his investments in and plans to acquire Twitter impacted other shareholders' decisions and put them at a disadvantage.

The unnamed person at Morgan Stanley corresponded with Jared Birchall, the executive who manages Musk's money, in messages about Musk's Twitter stock-buying strategy being closely held in February 2022.

"Only you and I know what is happening and why, as stated by someone at Morgan Stanley."

Read the court filing below:

According to the co-authors of the new book 'Character Limit,' Elon Musk's X has resulted in a financial disaster.