A federal judge has ordered Elon Musk to testify as part of a probe by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the $44 billion takeover of Twitter.

The mentioned regulator and the specified billionaire must agree on the date and location of the interview within the next two weeks. US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler issued an order requiring Mr. Musk to testify last weekend. This order is actually an official confirmation of the preliminary decision made in December and provides for agreement with the position of the regulator.

The SEC sued Elon Musk in October. The regulator is seeking to force the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX to testify as part of an investigation into the billionaire’s purchase of Twitter in 2022. Elon Musk over time decided to rename the social media industry giant he owns to X. The SEC reported that the billionaire refused to attend the interview, which was scheduled for September.

As part of the investigation, it is being investigated to what extent Mr. Musk complied and whether complied with the norms of American law when filling the necessary paperwork about his purchases of shares of the social media platform. Special attention is paid to the statements of the billionaire, which he made during the implementation of the Twitter takeover deal. In this case, the content of the mentioned statements is of particular importance in terms of its ability to mislead.

Elon Musk has challenged the SEC’s offer to interview him. The billionaire said that the relevant procedure has already been carried out twice. Mr. Musk also accused the regulator of using the practice of harassment.

Laurel Beeler disagreed with the billionaire’s arguments, noting that the SEC had the authority to issue a subpoena. She also announced her intention to make decisions for the billionaire and the regulator in the event that Elon Musk and the watchdog cannot agree on the date and location of the interview.

The SEC and the owner of one of the world’s largest social media platforms are in a kind of confrontation after the regulator sued Mr. Musk in 2018. At that time, the billionaire tweeted “funding secured” and posted a link to a possible plan to privatize Tesla. As part of the settlement of this case, Elon Musk agreed that a lawyer would check his publications about the electric car manufacturer on a social network, which he would become the owner of a few years later. A year later, the SEC sued the billionaire again for allegedly breaching that provision.

Elon Musk has asked the US Supreme Court to review the agreement, saying it violates his constitutional right to freedom of speech.

The billionaire demonstrates something like permanence in disagreement with regulators. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, sued the National Labor Relations Board after the watchdog filed a complaint against the firm in early January, alleging that employees who signed an open letter with a negative assessment of the CEO’s actions and decisions were fired on illegal grounds.

As we have reported earlier, Elon Musk Unveils AI Chatbot Grok.