Twitter has revealed in its latest court filing that Elon Musk is being investigated by federal authorities over his conduct during his takeover bid of the social platform.
While the filing said he was under investigation, it did not say what the exact focus of the probes was and which federal authorities are conducting them.
“This game of ‘hide the ball’ must end,” the company said in the court filing.
Twitter, which sued Musk in July to force him to close the deal, said attorneys for the Tesla Inc CEO had claimed “investigative privilege” when refusing to hand over documents it had sought.
It also said it had requested that Musk’s attorneys produce their communications with federal authorities months ago, but they had not done so.
The court filing, which asked Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick to order Musk’s attorneys to provide the documents, was made on Oct. 6 – the same day that McCormick paused litigation between the two sides after Musk reversed course and said he would proceed with the deal.
In April, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked him whether the disclosure of his 9% Twitter stake was late and why it indicated that he intended to be a passive shareholder. Mr Musk later refiled the disclosure to indicate he was an active investor.
Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, told Reuters that Twitter’s court filing was a “misdirection” and asserted: “It is Twitter’s executives that are under federal investigation.”
