Enlarge / Elon Musk at an AI event with Britain Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (credit: Getty Images | WPA Pool )

Elon Musk’s attempt to avoid testifying in a Twitter stock-purchase investigation continued yesterday with Musk asking a court to block a subpoena issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Musk’s filing in US District Court for the Northern District of California claimed the SEC is “harassing” him, exceeding its authority to investigate, and making “overly burdensome” demands for “irrelevant evidence.” The filing comes about a month after the SEC sued Musk to force him to testify. Musk provided testimony twice in July 2022 but is resisting the SEC’s attempt to question him a third time.

The SEC is investigating the purchases of Twitter’s stock that Musk made in the months before he bought the company outright. The agency began its investigation in April 2022 after Musk acquired a 9 percent stake in Twitter and failed to disclose it within 10 days as required under US law.