Elon Musk has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding allegations that he delayed disclosing his initial Twitter purchases in 2022. Under the settlement revealed in a Washington, D.C., federal court, a trust in Musk’s name will pay a $1.5 million civil fine.
The settlement does not require Musk to admit any wrongdoing, nor does he have to forfeit any of the $150 million he purportedly saved due to the delay. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan must approve the settlement, following his denial of Musk’s attempt to dismiss the case in February.
This settlement marks the conclusion of a prolonged legal battle between Musk and the SEC that began in September 2018 when the SEC charged Musk with securities fraud for his tweet claiming he had secured funding to take Tesla private. Musk settled that case by paying a $20 million civil fine, allowing Tesla lawyers to review certain Twitter posts, and stepping down as Tesla’s chairman.
Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, stated, “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.” The SEC declined to provide a comment on the matter.
In the SEC’s lawsuit from January 2025, it was alleged that Musk’s delay in disclosing his initial five percent stake in Twitter allowed him to purchase over $500 million worth of shares at artificially low prices before eventually revealing a 9.2 percent stake. Musk contended that the delay was unintentional and accused the SEC of infringing on his freedom of speech.
The settlement, which includes a $1.5 million penalty, was deemed a “modest sum for the richest person on the planet” by Robert Frenchman, a partner at the Dynamis law firm in New York. Musk finalized the $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October 2022, subsequently integrating Twitter into his artificial intelligence company xAI, which was later merged into his rocket company SpaceX. Forbes magazine estimates Musk’s net worth at $789.9 billion.
The settlement comes after discussions between both parties on March 17, coinciding with the departure of SEC enforcement chief Margaret Ryan. This case is separate from another civil lawsuit in which Musk was held liable for defrauding Twitter shareholders by a San Francisco jury in March 2025.
Despite his involvement in various companies and regulatory probes, Musk spearheaded a cost-cutting initiative during the second Trump administration before returning to his private sector ventures. Recently, Musk testified in federal court over a lawsuit concerning OpenAI, seeking damages and changes in the company’s leadership structure.