Elon Musk’s revocable trust has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit accusing the billionaire of failing to timely disclose his stake in Twitter, now rebranded as X. The proposed settlement, filed Monday in federal court in Washington, comes nearly two years after the SEC sued Musk, alleging that he delayed reporting his ownership of Twitter shares during his 2022 acquisition of the company.

The SEC’s original complaint, filed in January 2025, charged that Musk began purchasing Twitter shares in January 2022 but failed to disclose when his ownership exceeded the 5 percent threshold in mid-March, a public filing requirement designed to signal potential takeovers. The agency argued this delay allowed Musk to continue buying shares at artificially low prices before his April 4 disclosure, leading to an alleged underpayment valued at approximately $150 million. The complaint also noted that Twitter's stock price rose more than 27 percent on the day ownership was made public.

In the settlement, Musk’s trust does not admit wrongdoing and Musk himself faces no personal penalties. The SEC will dismiss its case against Musk upon court approval of the accord. Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, described the outcome as a victory, emphasizing that the fine was small and involved only the trust entity, which was “some days late on a filing.” Spiro also pointed out that Musk has now been cleared of all issues related to the delayed disclosure.

The SEC’s enforcement director, Margaret Ryan, resigned in March amid ongoing discussions about the case. Reporting indicated that settlement negotiations were underway but that some SEC enforcement staff had limited involvement early on. Observers have noted a shift in the SEC’s approach under the Biden administration, which has stepped back from aggressive enforcement in various high-profile instances, including cases against cryptocurrency firms such as Coinbase and Kraken. This broader regulatory reticence has sparked debate about whether political affiliations and contributions influence enforcement priorities—Musk is a prominent donor to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and has recently mended ties with the White House following prior disputes.

Musk continues to face other legal challenges related to Twitter, including a shareholder suit in New York and a separate trial in San Francisco that recently concluded. Meanwhile, his aerospace company SpaceX, which owns X, is preparing for a potential initial public offering expected later this year, an event anticipated to significantly increase Musk’s personal wealth.

Separately, related regulatory developments included the Federal Trade Commission’s withdrawal of a subpoena targeting the watchdog group Media Matters. The subpoena followed allegations by Musk that Media Matters sought to impair X’s advertiser relationships. Media Matters successfully challenged the subpoena on First Amendment grounds, and the FTC’s recent settlement clarified that the organization is not under investigation.