Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has resolved a civil lawsuit brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused him of delaying disclosure of his initial stake in Twitter during the company’s 2022 takeover period.

Under the settlement, a trust in Musk’s name will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty, without any admission of wrongdoing. Musk will also not be required to return any of the profits the SEC alleged he made from the delayed disclosure.

The regulator had alleged that Musk failed to timely disclose that he had acquired more than a 5 per cent stake in Twitter in late March and early April 2022. According to the SEC, the 11-day delay allowed him to continue buying shares at artificially lower prices, ultimately accumulating a larger position before revealing a 9.2 per cent stake, which sent the company’s stock price higher.

The SEC further argued that Musk should pay a civil fine and repay about $150 million it said he gained at the expense of unsuspecting investors.

Musk, however, maintained that the delay was inadvertent and accused the regulator of unfair targeting. He also argued that the case raised concerns about free speech protections.

“Mr. Musk has now been cleared of all issues related to the late filing of forms in the Twitter acquisition, as we said from the outset he would be,” his lawyer, Alex Spiro, said in a statement.

The settlement follows months of negotiations between both sides and still requires court approval.

The case was filed in January 2025, shortly before the end of former President Joe Biden’s administration, and came amid wider scrutiny of Musk’s 2022 Twitter share purchases.

Musk completed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October 2022. He later rebranded the platform as X and integrated it into his broader business ecosystem, including his artificial intelligence company xAI and rocket firm SpaceX. Forbes estimates his net worth at about $789.9 billion.

The SEC’s proposed penalty is considered the largest of its kind for this type of disclosure violation, although it fell short of the agency’s initial push to recover alleged profits.

The settlement also comes against the backdrop of a long-running and often tense relationship between Musk and the regulator, which dates back to a 2018 case involving Tesla-related disclosures.

Separately, Musk continues to face legal challenges linked to the Twitter takeover, including a shareholder lawsuit in which a jury previously found him liable for allegedly misleading investors over the company’s bot accounts during the acquisition process. (Arise News)

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