Richard Lawler is a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget. Last year, the SEC sued Elon Musk over the way his acquisition of Twitter (now X, and a part of SpaceX) started, and today it announced a settlement that looks like a massive bargain, while Musk’s own lawsuit against Sam Altman continues to play out . A week before the Trump administration took over, the department had alleged that by not disclosing he’d purchased more than $500 million in Twitter stock on time in the spring of 2022, Musk underpaid by at least $150 million, and harmed investors who sold their stock during that time. Now, as reported by Reuters , the SEC has added the Elon Musk Revocable Trust to its lawsuit, which will settle the case by paying a $1.5 million civil penalty without admitting wrongdoing or requiring Musk to cough up any of the money he allegedly saved. On May 4, 2026, the U.S.…