The Trump administration has approved a settlement allowing Elon Musk to pay a $1.5 million fine to resolve a lawsuit that initially sought at least $150 million. If approved by a federal court, the proposed settlement—submitted on January 20, 2025—would require a trust in Musk’s name to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the government.
The lawsuit, filed in January 2025 during the final days of the Biden administration, centers on Musk’s delayed disclosure of his 9% stake in Twitter in 2022. Under U.S. securities laws, investors must report significant stock purchases within 10 days. The SEC alleged that Musk’s failure to disclose his stake allowed him to continue purchasing shares at artificially low prices, resulting in an underpayment of at least $150 million.
Following the belated disclosure, Twitter’s stock price surged, and Musk later acquired the company outright in 2022. The Biden-era SEC lawsuit demanded that Musk repay his “unjust enrichment” from the violation, along with interest and an additional civil penalty. However, the SEC had spent nearly three years investigating the matter before filing the lawsuit, leaving insufficient time for litigation before the Trump administration took office.
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