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On Thursday, Elon Musk posted a concerning letter on X from his attorney, Alex Spiro, to Gary Gensler, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter said SEC staff had issued a “settlement demand that required Mr. Musk agree within 48 hours to accept a monetary payment or face charges on numerous counts.” Musk captioned it, “Oh, Gary, how could you do this to me?” 

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I think where it says “accept monetary payment,” that means they’re demanding he pay them — otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense. 

The letter continued: 

They [the SEC staff] indicated that this demand was a result of a directive from their superiors and that charges would be brought imminently unless Mr. Musk acquiesced. This demand follows a multi-year investigation and more than six years of harassment of Mr. Musk by the Commission and its Staff. 

Spiro said that they even tried to subpoena him and he refused. He also added the SEC had reopened an investigation into Musk’s Neuralink. 

It seems to pertain to the SEC inquiry into Musk’s involvement with Twitter (now X) based on the case name mentioned in the letter. 

Spiro called it an “improperly motivated campaign” against Musk as well as the individuals and companies associated with him. 

“We demand to know who directed these actions,” Spiro exclaimed. “Whether it was you or the White House. These tactics and this misguided scheme will not intimidate us.” 

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People immediately called out the SEC’s actions, including Social Capital CEO and All-In podcast host Chamath Palihapitiya and New Hampshire state representative Donald McFarlane. 

Gensler was an advisor to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He was also the Chief Financial Officer to the Clinton campaign in 2016. Gary Gensler is stepping down from the SEC and out the door on Jan. 20. 

We’ve written before about some of the lawfare being pursued against Musk, including by the SEC, involving his acquisition of Twitter. 

READ MORE: Out of Control: Biden DOJ, SEC Launch Yet Another Investigation Against an Elon Musk Company

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Elon Musk Tells the SEC What We All Wish We Could Tell the Federal Bureaucracy

At this point, these threats to Musk also seem a rather stupid move, given President-elect Donald Trump is about to take over. He’s already named Elon Musk to be in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, along with Vivek Ramaswamy. You would think that you wouldn’t want to be throwing down with threats. But the Biden team has never been known for smart moves. 

We’ll keep you apprised as we find out more.