(PatriotWise.com)- Elon Musk’s business operations around his recent $44 billion purchase of Twitter are being investigated by the US authorities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Mr. Musk’s late filing of a public form that investors must file when purchasing more than 5% of a company’s shares. The disclosure serves as an early warning to shareholders and corporations that a significant investment may be attempting to control or influence a firm.
Musk’s April 4 disclosure form was at least ten days late, a move that has saved him more than $140 million since share prices would have been higher if the public knew about his 5% stake in the firm.
Daniel Taylor, an accounting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said that the case is straightforward. It’s simple, but another issue is whether they’ll choose that battle with Elon.
An SEC action against Musk would be unlikely to prevent him from acquiring Twitter because the company’s board of directors unanimously authorized the acquisition, and the SEC may lack the authority to do so. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into Musk’s purchase.
Musk announced this week that he would lift Twitter’s permanent ban on former President Donald Trump if and when the deal is completed.
He believes that was a mistake because it alienated a significant portion of the country and did not result in Donald Trump losing his voice. He said that the choice was “morally bad.”
Musk said that that doesn’t imply someone can say whatever they want. If they say anything unlawful or harmful to the world, they should be given a timeout, a brief ban, or that specific tweet should be hidden or have minimal traction.
He said he would lift the permanent ban on Trump.
Musk said that if an account’s tweets breached platform policy, action may be taken against it, saying that the tweets should be deleted or rendered inaccessible. A suspension—a short suspension—is reasonable, but not a lifetime ban.
Permanent bans, according to Musk, should be exceedingly unusual and reserved for accounts that are bots, scams, or spam accounts.
