Twitter: Elon Musk’s delay in revealing partnership on Twitter triggers SEC probe:

U.S. regulators are investigating the delayed disclosure of Elon Musk’s huge stake in Twitter Inc. last month, the Wall Street Journal quoted people familiar with the matter as saying Wednesday.

Musk announced a 9.2% stake in Twitter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, a shareholding delay of at least 10 days since it crossed the 5% threshold for disclosure, the report said.

An investor who exceeds 5% of the shares must file a form with the SEC within 10 days. This serves as a starting point for stakeholders that a large investor may want to control the company.

The SEC declined to comment on the report and Tesla Inc.’s top boss did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

In addition to the delay, Musk’s April 4 filing also marked his shares as passive, meaning he had no plans to take over Twitter or influence its management or business.

The next day, however, he was offered a position on Twitter’s board, and a few weeks later, the world’s richest man signed a 44 billion deal to buy the social media giant.

Musk, known for his outspoken Twitter posts, has a long history of clashes with the SEC.

Most recently, a U.S. judge condemned him for trying to evade a settlement with the SEC for monitoring his Tesla tweets.

In April, data revealed that the Federal Trade Commission was investigating whether Musk had violated a law requiring companies and individuals to report some large transactions to antitrust-enforcement agencies.