Elon Musk has agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle a lawsuit accusing him of failing to disclose his Twitter (now X) share purchases on time. The case, filed in January 2025 just before President Donald Trump took office, alleged that Musk misled investors by delaying disclosure of acquiring more than 5% of Twitter’s shares in 2022, before taking ownership of the social media platform. A filing on Monday revealed that a Musk trust will pay the fine, though Musk has not admitted any wrongdoing. The settlement will be finalized once approved by the court.

The SEC had initially sought more than $200 million in penalties, claiming that Musk’s delay deprived ordinary investors of over $150 million in potential gains. Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, described the fine as minor and said it resolves all issues related to filing delays during the Twitter acquisition. An SEC spokesperson noted that if approved, this would mark the largest penalty ever imposed by the agency for failure to disclose share ownership on time.

Despite the settlement, Musk still faces a separate class-action lawsuit from investors over the same issue.