Will Elon Musk face US federal criminal charges or an SEC civil complaint before 2026?
Resolved:YesMake a Prediction
Did this actually happen?Yes
Will Elon Musk hold major political office in the United States before February 2033?
Will Elon Musk cease to be an advisor to Donald Trump and face public criticism from Donald Trump before 2026?
Will Elon Musk's million-dollar giveaway to register voters be considered illegal on December 31, 2025?
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The SEC has filed formal suit alleging Musk misled Twitter investors during his takeover of the company. https://apple.news/AI8OM6_A2TiSu6KmqrzKg7A
Musk just posted this letter from one of his lawyers, addressed to SEC chair Gensler. The letter claims that yesterday the SEC demanded that Musk enter into a settlement agreement within 48 hours, or 'face charges on numerous counts.'
Reuters: In Tesla Autopilot probe, US prosecutors focus on securities, wire fraud
U.S. prosecutors are examining whether Tesla committed securities or wire fraud by misleading investors and consumers about its electric vehicles’ self-driving capabilities, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems assist with steering, braking and lane changes - but are not fully autonomous. While Tesla has warned drivers to stay ready to take over driving, the Justice Department is examining other statements by Tesla and Chief Executive Elon Musk suggesting its cars can drive themselves.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating Tesla’s representations about driver-assistance systems to investors, one of the people said. The SEC declined to comment.
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The probe, which is not evidence of wrongdoing, could result in criminal charges, civil sanctions, or no action. Prosecutors are far from deciding how to proceed, one of the sources said, in part because they are sifting through voluminous documents Tesla provided in response to subpoenas.
The Hill: Elon Musk ordered to testify in SEC probe of Twitter purchase
Musk has resisted complying with the investigation, which questions the billionaire’s 2022 purchase and subsequent attempts to back out of a deal to buy Twitter. Musk was eventually forced to go through with the massive sale. The SEC has not alleged any wrongdoing.
The company’s value has plummeted since the purchase, with a majority of the platform’s advertisers leaving due to Musk relaxing content moderation policies and promoting antisemitic statements.
When the SEC demanded he sit for a third deposition for their investigation in September, he refused, instead arguing the agency has no authority to force him to answer questions. The SEC sued Musk to force his testimony the next month.
Reuters: US lawmakers ask SEC to scrutinize Musk comments on Neuralink
Four U.S. lawmakers have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Elon Musk committed securities fraud by allegedly misleading investors about the safety of a brain implant being developed by the billionaire’s firm Neuralink, according to a letter to the regulator.
The request for an inquiry came from Democratic House Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, and Barbara Lee and Tony Cardenas of California, according to the letter sent to the SEC on Tuesday and reviewed by Reuters.
This is fun.... headlines today are reading "SEC sued Elon Musk", however, they're playing a little loosely with that description...
I can document this more clearly when not distracted by work, but wanted to get this out there to forestall any arguments for a "yes" resolution based on this headline.
The SEC portion of the resolution criteria specifically require the filing of a complaint. Today, the SEC has filed an application in the US Federal Court for the Northern District of California. In the filing, they draw an explicit distinction between the two, leaving, IMO, no room for the application to be considered a complaint.
https://twitter.com/business/status/1710020853717516782?t=36TWQ6wsFY1gjGG_X_cMPQ&s=19
- Would charges have to be unsealed to count?
- Does Washington, District of Columbia, count as a federal entity?
- Would a single (singular) charge count, since the wording is for "charges" to occur.
- Would charges against his companies without explicitly naming Musk count?
- If charges are dismissed, would this count?
@probahilliby I completely defer to those who would serve as the arbiters of these questions (@moderators , presumably?), but here are my opinions:
- Would charges have to be unsealed to count? [The charge(s) or complaint need only be reported by credible sources. It is conceivable that they could simultaneously be under seal and that news of their existence could leak and be reported by credible sources. I think that such a scenario would meet the letter and intent of the resolution criteria.]
- Does Washington, District of Columbia, count as a federal entity? [This is probably a "yes", but the status of DC is such an oddall. Presumably, you're wondering relative to criterion #1. Maybe you can be more specific regarding one or more scenarios that would raise this question?]
- Would a single (singular) charge count, since the wording is for "charges" to occur? [Single charge would count. Might be better to read "...one or more charges..."]
- Would charges against his companies without explicitly naming Musk count? [No. The letter and intent of the resolution criteria are that Musk, individually, is named as a party.]
- If charges are dismissed, would this count? [Yes, that would count. The resolution criteria require only that one or more criminal charges (DOJ) or a civil complaint (SEC) are filed. What happens thereafter is irrelevant to the resolution here.]
Hi @lbiii, thanks for your question! It looks good to go, so I have approved it, and it will be on the website shortly.
Jgalt
·SEC complaint: SEC v Musk
This should resolve as Yes.
RuslanBes
·@Jgalt I think we can tag @admins now for this question.
johnnycaffeine
·@RuslanBes Thank you, I will go ahead and resolve it. The civil complaint was filed on January 14, 2025, so I will have that as the resolution date.