Interim SEC chief cast sole vote against suing Musk

Days before Republicans took the helm of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January, the agency’s five commissioners held a closed-door vote on whether to sue Elon Musk.

Four of the five commissioners, including Republican Hester Peirce, voted yes, three sources said. The fifth – Republican Mark Uyeda, now the acting head of the SEC – voted no, the people said.

The week after the 4-1 vote in favor, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Musk on January 14.

The details of the vote – including Uyeda’s dissent – are reported here for the first time.

Why it matters

Since 2022, the agency had been investigating whether the billionaire, a close ally of incoming President Donald Trump, had violated securities laws by disclosing too late his purchase of shares of Twitter, now known as X, prior to acquiring the company that year.