The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday it intends to seek sanctions against Elon Musk after he failed to appear for scheduled testimony for the regulator's probe into his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.

In a court filing, the SEC said the sanctions motion would seek an order to show case for why Musk should not be held in civil contempt.

Musk's lawyers called sanctions "drastic" and unnecessary, saying his testimony has already been rescheduled.