A federal judge has approved Elon Musk’s $1.5 million settlement with the SEC. But she made it clear she wasn’t happy about it. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan cited “significant misgivings” in her opinion while still accepting the deal.
The settlement ends a lawsuit the SEC filed against Musk in early 2025, just days before Donald Trump took office. The case centered on Musk’s failure to disclose his growing stake in Twitter (now X) in a timely manner back in 2022. The SEC argued that delay “ultimately saved him a whopping $150 million.”
Musk reached the settlement in May. It requires a trust in his name to pay the $1.5 million penalty without admitting wrongdoing. Sooknanan had previously questioned whether Musk was getting “special treatment” from the Trump administration — Musk helped bankroll Trump’s 2024 campaign.
In her opinion, Sooknanan wrote that her court was limited to evaluating whether the proposed settlement meets “minimum standards of fairness and reasonableness” or whether it would “make a mockery of judicial power.” She concluded it doesn’t meet that high threshold, but her reluctance is clear in every paragraph.
$1.5 million is pocket change for Musk. The SEC originally argued he saved $150 million by hiding his stake. The math on this settlement doesn’t add up for anyone watching — but the case is closed.
