Elon Musk's platform 'X' has agreed to pay President Donald Trump around 10 million dollars. This compensation responds to the closing of its account in the then called Twitter, a measure taken after the controversial assault on the Capitol occurred on January 6, 2021. It was the newspaper ‘The Wall Street Journal’, who revealed the information this Wednesday and pointed out, in addition, the possible existence of a conflict of interest. People consider Musk the richest man in the world, and he maintains a close connection with the current president as part of his inner circle.
We should note that the suspension of the Trump account happened before Musk obtained Twitter. However, once the company’s purchase was completed, the tycoon ordered the restitution of the US president’s profile in November 2022. During that period, Trump had already developed his own social platform, social truth, as an alternative to the microblogging network.
After Twitter suspended his account, Donald Trump sued the platform, but a judge dismissed the case. The US president appealed to a higher court, allowing the judicial process to continue despite Trump and Elon Musk's increasingly aligned political and business relationship.
On November 20, the legal teams of both parties filed a letter before the courts, informing about ongoing negotiations to reach an extrajudicial agreement. Finally, the parties resolved the legal dispute by withdrawing the appeal, and the judge approved this decision last Monday. However, the judicial resolution obtained by ‘The Wall Street Journal’ does not reveal the specific terms of the agreement reached.
The New York Medium reports that Trump’s lawyers considered dropping the appeal, citing his ties to Musk, who contributed over $260 million to the presidential campaign. Despite these factors, the legal process continued its course until it reached a solution.
Donald Trump appointed Elon Musk to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) for U.S. Public Administration reforms. This plan involves mass staff cuts and a significant reduction in state offices to lower government spending and optimize operations.
However, the designation of Musk has generated controversy and concern in various sectors, since its role in this restructuring could lead to important conflicts of interest. Analysts and opponents have suggested that the measures promoted by the billionaire could directly benefit their own companies.
Meta, owned by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, recently agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a lawsuit from Donald Trump. The plaintiff filed the legal action after Facebook and Instagram suspended its accounts following the Capitol assault.
The agreement sets aside 22 million dollars for a presidential library honoring Trump, while the rest will cover legal costs and compensate other parties involved. So far, no one has confirmed whether the compensation from the lawsuit against ‘X’ will be directed to a similar purpose or used for something else.