The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reopened a probe into Elon Musk’s neuro-technology startup Neuralink, according to the billionaire’s lawyer, Alex Spiro.
SEC scrutiny
A letter from Spiro to the outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler, shared by Musk on X, stated that the agency staff on Wednesday issued a settlement demand requiring Musk to agree within 48 hours to either accept a monetary payment or face charges on numerous counts over an investigation into his acquisition of Twitter. The settlement amount was not mentioned in the letter.
Additionally, Spiro stated that the agency reopened an investigation into Neuralink this week, while the exact nature of the investigation was not specified.
The SEC staff indicated that the demand resulted from a directive from their superiors, with charges to be brought against Musk imminently unless he acquiesces. Spiro added that he was recently subpoenaed for testimony and threatened with a process server in case he did not immediately cooperate, which he refused.
The letter accused the SEC of being engaged in an “improperly motivated campaign” against Musk and the individuals and companies associated with him.
Reuters later reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that the agency has extended the deadline for Musk to respond to its offer to Monday following a request for more time.
Musk-SEC tensions
Musk has had a rocky relationship with the SEC over the years. In November last year, four US lawmakers wrote to the agency to investigate if Musk committed securities fraud by allegedly misleading investors regarding the safety of Neuralink’s brain implant.
This year, a Federal judge declined the SEC’s request to sanction the billionaire after he failed to appear at a testimony related to the Twitter takeover. In 2018, the agency sued Musk for his Twitter posts about taking Tesla private, which he settled with a $20 million fine.
However, with Gensler set to resign on Donald Trump’s inauguration and the President-elect’s close relationship with Musk, it remains unclear how much the SEC will continue to scrutinize Musk’s ventures, including Tesla, SpaceX, X, and Neuralink.
Musk is also set to co-lead a task force termed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with Vivek Ramaswamy, aiming to overhaul the US government to boost efficiency.
Reacting to a separate ruling against the SEC on Thursday, Musk termed the agency as “just another weaponized institution doing political dirty work,” while Ramaswamy said it has lost its legitimacy as a law enforcement body.” This indicates that the agency is likely to come under scrutiny by the DOGE taskforce.
Forbes valuation
Musk has a net worth of $429.2 billion as of December 13, making him the world’s richest person, according to Forbes estimates. On Wednesday, he became the first-ever person to have a net worth of over $400 billion.
