Elon Musk has officially settled his legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over his 2022 purchase of Twitter shares.
Under the agreement, Musk will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to resolve claims that he failed to quickly disclose how much Twitter stock he had purchased before eventually acquiring the platform. The settlement still needs court approval, but it allows both sides to close the case without Musk admitting to any wrongdoing. The lawsuit focused on Musk’s rapid buying of Twitter shares ahead of his $44 billion takeover of the company, now known as X.
According to the SEC, Musk passed the legal threshold requiring public disclosure after acquiring more than 5% of Twitter’s shares but failed to report it within the required 10-day period. Regulators argued that the delay allowed him to continue buying shares at lower prices before the public knew about his growing ownership stake. After Musk’s purchases were eventually revealed, Twitter’s stock price reportedly jumped by 27%. The SEC claimed that investors who sold shares before the disclosure may have missed out on more than $150 million in gains.
Although the SEC originally reportedly sought over $200 million from Musk, the final settlement amount ended up being far smaller. The payment will reportedly come from a trust connected to the billionaire. Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, described the outcome as a victory, saying the case had effectively cleared Musk regarding the late filing issue.
The legal battle had become increasingly tense over the past two years. At one point in 2024, Musk skipped a scheduled SEC deposition to attend a SpaceX rocket launch, further escalating tensions between his team and regulators.
Even though this SEC case is now ending, Musk still faces separate investor lawsuits connected to the same Twitter stock disclosure controversy.
