Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine to resolve a U.S. government lawsuit over his purchase of shares in Twitter ahead of his $44 billion takeover in 2022.
The agreement, filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., still requires judicial approval. Under the deal, a trust linked to Musk—not Musk personally—will pay the fine and commit to complying with disclosure rules going forward.
The case focused on Musk’s failure to meet a legal deadline requiring investors to notify regulators within 10 days after acquiring more than five percent of a publicly traded company. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk missed that deadline by 11 days while quietly building his stake in Twitter.
Regulators argued that the delay allowed him to continue buying shares at lower prices, potentially saving around $150 million while other investors sold without knowing his growing involvement.
Despite those claims, the settlement does not require Musk to return any of the alleged gains. His lawyer, Alex Spiro, described the outcome as a victory, insisting Musk had been cleared of wrongdoing.
“A trust vehicle has agreed to a small fine for being late on one filing,” Spiro said, adding that the case was dismissed without any admission of guilt.
If approved by the court, the SEC will drop Musk as a defendant entirely, bringing the matter to a close.
The development comes shortly after a separate case in California, where a jury found that Musk had misled Twitter investors during the 2022 acquisition process. That case could result in damages reaching up to $2 billion, though his legal team has indicated plans to appeal.
This marks the second time Musk has reached a settlement with the SEC. In 2018, he paid $20 million and stepped down as chairman of Tesla following controversial statements about taking the company private.
While the latest agreement ends one legal challenge, it underscores the continued scrutiny surrounding Musk’s high-profile business dealings.
