Judge rejects Elon Musk bid to dismiss SEC lawsuit

Washington: A federal judge rejected Elon Musk's bid to dismiss a US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing him of delaying disclosure of his growing stake in Twitter.

Musk had argued the SEC engaged in selective enforcement and said the case infringed on his constitutional free-speech rights, among other claims.

"A straightforward application of the law reveals that none of these arguments warrant dismissal of this lawsuit," US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan wrote in an order Tuesday in Washington.


The SEC sued Musk in January 2025, less than a week before President Donald Trump took office. The agency alleges that in 2022 Musk amassed shares of Twitter and failed to disclose on time how large his stake had become. Musk later bought the social media platform for $44 billion, took it private and renamed it X.

By delaying the disclosure, Musk was able to keep buying shares at lower prices, ultimately costing Twitter shareholders more than $150 million, the SEC said. Musk's lawyers sought dismissal in August, calling the lawsuit "a waste of this court's time and taxpayer resources."