SEC Revives Investigation into Neuralink, According to Musk’s Attorney – One America News Network
December 13, 2024 – 6:48 AM PST
(Reuters) – This week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reopened its investigation into Elon Musk’s brain-chip company Neuralink, as disclosed in a letter that Musk shared on the social media platform X on Thursday.
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The letter, dated December 12 and penned by Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro, was addressed to outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler. It stated that Musk was given a 48-hour deadline to either accept a financial settlement or face charges related to the inquiry into his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
Musk has since rebranded Twitter as ‘X.’
The specific settlement amount was not mentioned in the letter.
Elon Musk has had a longstanding contentious relationship with the SEC, and last year, four lawmakers urged the commission to investigate alleged securities fraud by Musk, claiming he misled investors about the safety of a Neuralink brain implant.
It remains uncertain how much ground the SEC would gain if they pursued legal action against Musk.
The billionaire, who also leads Tesla (TSLA.O) and SpaceX, is expected to wield considerable influence after investing over a quarter of a billion dollars to assist Donald Trump in the upcoming presidential election. His companies are predicted to remain largely shielded from regulatory and enforcement scrutiny.
Trump has appointed Musk to a task force focused on a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. government.
In the letter, Spiro asserted that he and Musk would not be “intimidated” by the SEC and that they would uphold their legal rights.
Neither the SEC nor Neuralink immediately responded to inquiries outside of regular business hours.
A federal judge rejected the SEC’s request to sanction Musk in November, after he failed to appear for a court-ordered deposition regarding the Twitter takeover investigation, which examined whether he breached securities laws in 2022.
The commission had previously sued Musk in 2018 regarding his tweets about taking Tesla private. Musk settled that case by paying a $20 million fine, consenting to have Tesla lawyers review certain tweets in advance, and resigning as chairman.
(This article has been corrected to clarify that the settlement demand was related to the SEC’s investigation into Musk’s Twitter acquisition, rather than Neuralink, in paragraph 2)
Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
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