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Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have teamed up to express their opposition to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler.
crypto YouTube channel crypto Banter explained in an Oct. 19 livestream that, in an amicus brief filed this week, Musk and Cuban supported a review of the SEC’s current use of administrative law judges in compliance actions. The existing system allows the SEC to bring cases and preside over them, denying defendants the right to a jury trial.
Musk has a contentious history with the SEC. In 2018, he settled a lawsuit brought by the agency over his tweet about potentially taking Tesla private. As part of the deal, Musk agreed to have the company pre-approve his Tesla-related tweets.
Earlier this year, Musk criticized the SEC, saying, “I don’t respect the SEC. “I don’t respect them.” Cuban also settled a high-profile insider trading case with the SEC in 2008.
The amicus brief states that Musk and Cuban “have a strong interest in SEC enforcement actions (and) protecting due process” in such cases. The brief maintains that the SEC’s current system of administrative procedure is unconstitutional.
Musk and Cuban are the latest high-profile figures in the business and technology space to challenge Gensler’s leadership. The SEC chairman has received criticism from the crypto industry for his hesitation in approving a bitcoin ETF.
Earlier this week, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz predicted that the SEC would approve a bitcoin ETF in 2023, stating that “Gensler needs a win” given the mounting pressure.
The Musk-Cuban amicus brief indicates continued pushback against Gensler’s SEC from the tech and crypto community. His high profile could give momentum to efforts to reform the SEC’s enforcement procedures.
