The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued billionaire Elon Musk, saying he failed to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock in a timely manner in early 2022, before buying the social media site.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Elon Musk for allegedly failing to properly disclose his purchase of Twitter shares before buying the company, currently known as X.

The SEC sued Elon Musk on Tuesday, accusing the X owner of failing to properly disclose his purchases of Twitter stock in 2022.

The SEC on Tuesday filed a suit against Elon Musk, alleging the billionaire violated securities law by acquiring Twitter shares at "artificially low prices."

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday sued Elon Musk over allegations he misled shareholders about his Twitter stock purchases, escalating the agency’s long-simmering feud with the billionaire.

The financial regulator ordered Musk to pay a civil penalty and remedies over alleged “unjust enrichment” ahead of his 2022 purchase of the social network.

Regulators filed a lawsuit in federal court stemming from Mr. Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the social media company now called X.

Elon Musk is being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming he didn't disclose purchases of Twitter stock in 2022 immediately, allowing him to underpay.

Musk ended up buying Twitter for $44bn in October 2022 and has since changed the platform's name to X. The complaint was submitted by the SEC to a federal court in Washington DC on Tuesday. The lawsuit also asked the court to order Musk to give up "unjust" profits and pay a fine.