Elon Musk's time in DC comes back to bite him in ongoing lawsuit: report

A judge knocked down Elon Musk's argument for getting his U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit moved out of Washington, D.C.

The SEC sued the tech mogul on Jan. 14 alleging violations of federal law requiring the disclosure of his purchase of a 5 percent stake in Twitter, months before he took over the social media platform and eventually changed its name to X, and a federal judge ruled against his request to move the trial to New York or Texas.

"Mr. Musk contends that litigating this case in this District would impose 'substantial burdens' on him because he is 'an incredibly busy individual' and 'it is unlikely [he] could attend an entire trial in Washington, D.C.,'" wrote U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan.

"The SEC does not dispute these representations," the judge added. "The Court takes Mr. Musk’s convenience seriously, but it also notes that Mr. Musk has considerable means and spends at least forty percent of his time outside his chosen forum."

The judge took note of Musk's four-month tenure serving a quasi-governmental role in President Donald Trump's administration, which he joined six days after the SEC suit was filed, as head of the Department of Government Efficiency in her ruling against his request.

"Indeed, although Mr. Musk may have 'rarely' traveled to this District in recent months," Sooknanan wrote, "Mr. Musk’s brief itself indicates that he has spent substantial time here this year."

Musk purchased a minority share in Twitter in March 2022, but SEC regulators say he failed to disclose that his stake exceeded a 5 percent ownership threshold within the required 10 calendar days.

The tech billionaire's attorneys argued that Musk stopped purchasing shares of the publicly listed social media platform and filed his disclosure one business day after his wealth manager spoke with legal counsel about filing requirements.