SEC publishes letter asking Elon Musk to explain late Twitter filing

US financial watchdog asked Musk 10 days before he announced his takeover bid why he had not disclosed his stake sooner

The US financial watchdog has contacted Elon Musk about the disclosure of his stake in Twitter, asking the Tesla chief executive why he appeared to file a crucial form late.

The Securities and Exchange Commission published a letter sent to the world's richest man in which it asks a series of questions about how he declared his acquisition of a 9.2% stake on 4 April. The move prompted a flurry of corporate activity that led to Twitter accepting a $44bn (35bn) takeover bid from Musk on 25 April - although he has since announced that the deal is on hold" while he seeks more information about the proportion of fake accounts on Twitter.