Tech billionaire Elon Musk has failed to convince a federal judge to relocate a lawsuit over his stake in Twitter from Washington to Texas to suit his busy schedule.
The former DOGE director was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in January, claiming an 11-day delay in revealing his initial five percent stake in Twitter in 2022 allowed him to buy shares priced at over $500 million at artificially low prices.
Musk, who lives in Austin, claimed he was “an incredibly busy individual” who regularly worked over 80 hours per week and often slept in his office or factory. He claimed that having to attend an entire court trial in D.C. “would impose substantial burdens” on him.
US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan noted that Musk was a regular visitor to the White House when he was heading DOGE as President Donald Trump’s “First Buddy.”
“Although Mr. Musk may have ‘rarely’ traveled to this district in recent months, Mr. Musk’s brief itself indicates that he has spent substantial time here this year,” she said.
The judge noted on Thursday that while she takes Musk’s “convenience seriously”, as the world’s richest man he has “considerable means.”
He became the first person worth $500 billion on Wednesday, according to Forbes’ billionaires index.
The judge noted that the Tesla CEO spends at last 40 percent of his time outside of Texas and pointed out the heavy workloads of Texas judges and said she could proceed with “reasonable alacrity.”
Musk had wanted the case moved to Manhattan. The Daily Beast has contacted Musk’s legal team for comment.
The SEC is seeking Musk to relinquish the $150 million he allegedly saved at the expense of unsuspecting investors, and to pay a civil fine.
In August, Musk tried to get the case dismissed, stating the SEC’s “selective enforcement” of its security laws were targeting him for “criticism of government overreach.”
“There is no ongoing violation. There is no intent. There is no harm,” Musk said. “Simply put, this action is a waste of this court’s time and taxpayer resources.”
Musk purchased Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion, rebranding it as X. His companies Tesla, SpaceX and the Boring tunnel business are all based in Texas.
