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Judge Rejects Elon Musk’s Bid to Move SEC Lawsuit From Washington to Texas

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A U.S. federal judge has denied Elon Musk’s request to move a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit from Washington, D.C. to Texas, rejecting his claim that the capital’s court location was overly burdensome given his packed schedule.

Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled on Thursday that while she acknowledges Musk’s demanding workload, his “considerable means” and frequent travel make Washington an appropriate venue. She also noted that Musk spends at least 40% of his time outside Texas, including significant periods in the capital, where he recently led the Department of Government Efficiency.

The judge emphasized that Texas courts face heavier caseloads, while her court could handle the matter with “reasonable alacrity.” Musk’s argument centered on his claim that he works 80 or more hours per week, often sleeping at his office or factories, and that defending himself in Washington would cause “substantial burdens.”

The SEC lawsuit, filed in January, accuses Musk of failing to timely disclose his acquisition of a 5% stake in Twitter (now X) in early 2022. The 11-day delay, according to the SEC, allowed him to buy over $500 million worth of shares at artificially low prices, saving him an estimated $150 million. The agency seeks a civil fine and the forfeiture of those gains, while Musk is attempting to have the case dismissed.

Musk, whose fortune reportedly surpassed $500 billion this week, resides in Austin, Texas, where his major companies—Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company—are headquartered. He had also proposed moving the case to Manhattan, where former Twitter shareholders have filed a related lawsuit, but that request was likewise denied.

The case, titled SEC v. Musk, will proceed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under docket number 25-00105, setting the stage for another high-profile courtroom battle involving one of the world’s most controversial billionaires.

Coinbase to Face Narrowed Shareholder Lawsuit After Judge’s Partial Dismissal

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A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Coinbase must face a narrowed shareholder lawsuit alleging it misled investors about key business risks, including the likelihood of being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a 59-page ruling issued Tuesday night, Judge Brian Martinotti of the U.S. District Court in New Jersey rejected Coinbase’s bid for a full dismissal of the case. The lawsuit accuses the cryptocurrency exchange and several of its top executives and board members of fraudulently concealing regulatory and financial risks in public statements over a two-year period.

The shareholders allege Coinbase made misleading claims suggesting it was unlikely to face SEC enforcement, and that customer assets would remain protected even if the company filed for bankruptcy. These statements, made through earnings calls, regulatory filings, blog posts, and social media, allegedly inflated investor confidence.

Judge Martinotti ruled that plaintiffs could not proceed based solely on “group pleading”, where statements in company-wide documents do not specify individual responsibility. However, he allowed the lawsuit to continue for claims where investors provided specific allegations tied to individual defendants, writing, “Where plaintiffs have appropriately provided defendant-by-defendant particularity, the claims must remain.”

In a notable aside, Martinotti criticized the lack of clarity in the plaintiffs’ filings, remarking humorously, “Judges are not like pigs, hunting for truffles buried in briefs.”

Coinbase called the ruling a “significant step forward,” saying it would continue to “vigorously defend against any remaining claims.” Attorneys representing the shareholders did not immediately respond to media requests.

The case stems from major stock drops in 2022 and 2023, including a 26% plunge on May 11, 2022 after Coinbase reported disappointing revenues and added new risk disclosures, and a 12% drop on June 6, 2023 following the SEC lawsuit alleging the company operated as an unregistered securities exchange.

The class action, led by Swedish pension fund Sjunde AP-Fonden, covers investors who bought Coinbase shares between April 14, 2021, and June 5, 2023.

The SEC’s own case against Coinbase was dropped in February 2025, after the Trump administration moved to loosen federal oversight of the cryptocurrency sector, marking a major shift in the U.S. regulatory approach to digital assets.

The case is In re Coinbase Global Inc. Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 22-04915.

Apple and OpenAI Seek Dismissal of Elon Musk’s Antitrust Lawsuit

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Apple and OpenAI have jointly asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s xAI, which accuses the two companies of engaging in anticompetitive behavior through their AI partnership.

The lawsuit, filed in August, alleges that Apple’s deal with OpenAI — which integrates ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs — is “exclusive” and unfairly limits competition by sidelining Musk’s X platform and its Grok chatbot.

APPLE AND OPENAI REJECT CLAIMS OF MONOPOLY

In court filings on Tuesday, Apple’s lawyers stated that the company’s deal with OpenAI is not exclusive and does not restrict competition in any way.

“Apple and OpenAI’s agreement is expressly not exclusive, and it is public and widely known that Apple intends to partner with other generative AI chatbots,” Apple’s filing said.

OpenAI echoed this argument, accusing Musk of engaging in a “campaign of lawfare” — using lawsuits to attack competitors — and said xAI had failed to demonstrate any concrete harm.

“Musk’s claims are purely speculative,” OpenAI’s attorneys wrote. “xAI has not alleged any direct or anticompetitive harm resulting from ChatGPT’s integration as an option on certain iPhones.”

BACKGROUND OF THE DISPUTE

Apple and OpenAI’s collaboration, announced in June 2024, made ChatGPT accessible across Apple’s ecosystem, allowing users to access the chatbot through Siri and other built-in applications.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit before it transitioned into a for-profit structure under CEO Sam Altman, has since become one of its harshest critics. He argues that OpenAI has abandoned its original mission of open and safe AI development.

Musk’s company xAI, launched in 2023, operates the Grok chatbot integrated into his social media platform X (formerly Twitter). xAI’s lawsuit seeks billions in damages, claiming Apple’s partnership with OpenAI harms fair market competition.

Musk is also pursuing a separate lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman in California federal court, seeking to reverse the company’s for-profit conversion.

xAI has not yet responded publicly to Apple and OpenAI’s latest motion for dismissal.