Elon Musk is in settlement talks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over his delayed disclosure of Twitter stake purchases in 2022, a move widely seen as clearing the final legal obstacle for SpaceX's anticipated IPO. According to Axios citing SEC court filings, the negotiations are advancing, with SpaceX's bankers pressing for closure before roadshow preparations begin.
SEC Allegations: 11-Day Delay, $500M in Savings
The SEC sued Musk in January 2025, alleging he waited 21 days—more than double the legal 10-day limit—before disclosing that his Twitter stake exceeded 5%. The regulator claims this 11-day gap allowed Musk to continue buying shares at artificially low prices, saving an estimated $500 million. The SEC is seeking civil penalties and the return of $150 million in allegedly saved costs. Compounding the case, Musk filed a “13G” form meant for passive investors rather than the “13D” form required for active stakeholders. Musk's legal team calls the delay “inadvertent” and counters that the SEC investigation violates his free speech rights.
X Pays €120M EU Fine, Retains Right to Appeal
Meanwhile, X has resolved a separate European compliance issue. The European Commission confirmed that X paid a €120 million fine by the deadline and submitted a remediation plan for its blue checkmark verification system. The fine stems from the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) investigation, which found the paid verification feature misled users. X stated it will continue to appeal the ruling, meaning the regulatory saga is not entirely over.
Musk Reaffirms NVIDIA Buying Spree, Praises Huang
Amid legal and regulatory pressures, Musk made a rare public show of support for NVIDIA, calling himself “a huge fan” of CEO Jensen Huang and vowing continued massive chip purchases for SpaceX AI and Tesla. This marks a shift—previously, Musk's xAI and Tesla had emphasized developing in-house AI chips to cut reliance on external suppliers. Analysts suggest the pivot may reflect short-term compute gaps for projects like Grok and FSD, or could be a signal of strong AI infrastructure investment ahead of SpaceX's IPO.
SpaceX IPO Path: Indirect Boost for Crypto Markets
If SpaceX achieves a valuation of $1.75 trillion, it would surpass Meta and Tesla, becoming the largest tech IPO in history. Once the SEC settlement is finalized, bankers could launch roadshows as soon as June. For crypto markets, the implications are multi-layered: expanded AI compute procurement by Musk's entities could lift risk appetite across tech and compute tokens; a successful SpaceX IPO would reinforce the “liquidity premium” thesis for mega-cap tech assets, potentially benefiting large-cap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in institutional portfolio allocations.