Elon Musk Claims SEC Has Given Him 48 Hours to Settle Alleged Securities Violations

"Oh Gary, how could you do this to me?" Musk wrote on X/Twitter, then posted a letter that his lawyer sent to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler criticizing the demanded settlement.

CNBC quoted an unnamed source as confirming that the SEC had sent Musk such an ultimatum, but had given the Tesla chief – who's the world's richest man – more than 48 hours to respond.

In his letter to the Gensler, Musk attorney Alex Spiro criticized the government's settlement demand as part of "a multi-year investigation and more than six years of harassment of Mr. Musk by the Commission and its staff."

"This series of events makes clear that the Commission is not motivated to seek the truth but instead is engaged in an improperly motivated campaign against Mr. Musk and the individuals and companies associated with him," Spiro wrote. "We demand to know who directed these actions – whether it was you or [outgoing President Biden's] White House. These tactics and misguided scheme will not intimidate us."

Musk has often crossed swords with the SEC, famously paying a $20 million settlement after writing on social media in 2018 that he was thinking of taking Tesla private and had the "funding secured."

TSLA shares rose on the take-private news, but it later turned out that Musk didn't really have the funding solidly lined up. He eventually abandoned the go-private idea altogether.

More recently, the SEC reportedly opened a probe in 2022 when Musk allegedly sold some Tesla stock prior to polling his social-media followers about what he should do with a large number of TSLA options that he held.

The agency is also reportedly looking into claims that Musk concealed purchases of Twitter stock that he made before to buying the entire social-media company in 2022. Some investors allege that not properly disclosing the purchases kept Twitter's stock price lower than it should have been had Musk's interest been known.

In addition to often fighting with the SEC, Musk is no fan Gensler's boss, lame-duck Democratic President Biden.

The Tesla CEO famously backed Republican Donald Trump in last month's election and has reportedly helped the president-elect vet candidates for top jobs in Trump's incoming administration.

Trump had previously vowed to replace Gensler, whom Biden appointed in 2021. However, the SEC chair announced shortly after Trump's November election win that he would voluntarily step down on Jan. 20 – the same day the new president will take office.