Elon Musk’s X agrees to pay $10,000,000 to settle Donald Trump lawsuit
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has agreed to pay Donald Trump $10m to settle a lawsuit the president filed against the company.
Twitter – now known as X – banned Trump from its platform following the US Capitol riot on January 6 2021.
At the time, the company argued that his account was “permanently suspended […] due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Trump sued Twitter in response, claiming that he was unfairly silenced and censored by big tech.
Allegedly, the two tweets in question were: one referring to his supporters as ‘American Patriots’ and claimed they would ‘not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape, or form!!!’ In the other, Trump announced he would not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration.
In response, Twitter determined these messages could be seen as endorsing the rioters and would potentially impact the upcoming inauguration.
Andrew Harnik / Staff / Getty
That said, the lawsuit was filed against Twitter’s previous CEO, Jack Dorsey.
But since Musk took over the platform in 2022 and branded it X, he reinstated Trump’s account and even donated $250 million to his re-election campaign.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Trump’s legal team was considering dropping the case but instead, they worked out a deal that’s further solidified their connection.
Details of the agreement were not made public in court filings, but X and Trump have agreed to cover their own legal costs and move on, as per a court filing. This marks the second big social media payout for Trump.
Andrew Harnik / Staff / Getty
Just last month, Meta Platforms agreed to pay the President $25 million in a similar lawsuit, alleging unlawful silencing of conservative viewpoints.
Meanwhile, Trump’s attorneys are looking to reach a settlement with Google, which banned him from YouTube after the 2021 Capitol riot, according to the WSJ.
The head of Tesla is also leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new agency external to the White House tasked with shrinking the federal bureaucracy.
“It’s not optional for us to reduce the federal expenses,” Musk stated. “It’s essential. It’s essential for America to remain solvent as a country.”
The SpaceX founder spoke alongside Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, covering topics such as the ‘hostile takeover‘ of the government, self-policing measures and restoring democracy in the US.
“The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,” the 53-year-old said. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty
X users notice Donald Trump’s ‘seething’ reaction to Elon Musk’s son appearing in Oval Office address
Seems like the president wasn’t too happy with the special guest
US President Donald Trump has seemingly been left ‘seething’ according to X users after Elon Musk brought his son X Æ A-12 into the Oval Office for an address.
Elon Musk‘s power within the US government has increasingly grown since he joined then-Republican presidential candidate on the election campaign trail last year.
The pair have a well known strong relationship, and many attribute large parts of Trump’s victory to Musk’s support – both financial and through his ownership of social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Donald Trump and Elon Musk have become close allies following the US election (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
As a result of this, Musk was rewarded with a position as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, otherwise known as ‘DOGE’ for short, and tasked with cutting around $2,000,000,000,000 from the federal budget.
This new private agency has been met with significant controversy, with lawsuits dropping almost immediately and concerns over national security after the department gained access to the financial records of millions of Americans.
It’s been understood that President Trump doesn’t appreciate a power struggle and there have been many reports that he’s grown frustrated with Musk’s inability to remain on a leash, following incidents involving hiring non-US citizens and fiery feuds with key Trump partners.
However, it appears that Trump’s latest ‘rival’ for attention is none other than Musk’s own son X Æ A-12 (or X for short), as he made an appearance during an Oval Office address that appeared to frustrate the president.
Musk certainly took a bulk of the focus after addressing accusations of a ‘hostile takeover’, but one X user has figured out the moment that led Trump to ‘seethe’ in anger at little X,. as reported by Tyla.
Trump seethes as President Musk’s kid eats his boogers then paws his desk.
“Trump seethes as President Musk’s kid eats his boogers then paws his desk,” Molly Ploofkins eloquently illustrates, and it’s hard to ignore the contempt in the eyes of the president in this particular moment.
“Can you expect anything else?” questions one user in the replies, whereas another adds that “Trump was P***** OFF THE MOST cause he hated that the kid was getting the attention HE so craves.”
Some have offered contrasting takes on the situation though, with one reply arguing: “He looks like a grandpa watching his grandkids. I don’t see him mad at all.”
What remains true is that Trump was far from the only person frustrated at X’s appearance though, as his mother and Musk’s former partner Grimes has expressed her own anger on social media.
“He should no be in public like this,” she claimed, adding “sigh” at the end of her post to express her indignation and hopelessness.
Featured Image Credit: Fox News
Elon Musk finally responds to X users calling for Kanye West’s account to be removed
The controversial rapper continued to post during the Super Bowl
It’s been a controversial time on X since Elon Musk bought Twitter back in October 2022 and rebranded the social media platform in his own vision.
As well as introducing a paid subscription cost and rolling out Community Notes, Musk has been accused of letting people say what they want.
There’s been something of a mass exodus, with celebrities ranging from Stephen King to Mark Hamill heading to Bluesky. One person who has firmly remained on X in Kanye West, and following a run of recent outbursts, Musk has responded to calls to ban the rapper.
West grabbed the attention of the Xverse when his account went on an antisemitic rant and then thanked Musk, writing, “I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent.”
Among the comments made, West posted statements saying, “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi,” with one saying, “I’m never apologising for my Jewish comments.”
There was a massive backlash, with Friends star David Schwimmer calling for West to be banned from X.
Given what he has posted, his account is now classified as NSFW. You should not be seeing that anymore.
Schwimmer wrote: “This is so 2022. We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile… but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk.
“Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That’s twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence.
“His sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews.
“I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate ALL marginalized communities including his own) or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point.”
Saying that ‘silence is complicity’ Schwimmer was joined by The Campaign Against Antisemitism in asking for West to be de-platformed.
Speaking out about the issue, Musk has since confirmed that West will be censored. The X owner wrote: “Given what he has posted, his account is now classified as NSFW. You should not be seeing that anymore.”
West’s account has seemingly been deleted (X / Kanye West)
West’s X account was slapped with a sensitive content warning, but in the aftermath, he seems to have deleted it. After continuing to post during the Super Bowl, West wrote: “I’m logging out of Twitter. I appreciate Elon for allowing me to vent. It has been very cathartic to use the world as a sounding board. It was like an Ayahuasca trip. Love all of you who gave me your energy and attention. To we connect again. Good afternoon and good night.”
While posting during the Super Bowl, West went on a rant about Taylor Swift, who was there to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, as he played for the Kansas City Chiefs. In another particularly charged rant, West took aim at Kendrick Lamar and posted: “KENDRICK IS BEING USED BY THESE WHITE PEOPLE AND JEWS AND SO AM I.”
West had referred to his posts as a ‘social experiment’, adding, that it was “my greatest performance art piece thus far.”
Whatever the intention was, West looks like he’s gone from X for the foreseeable future.
Featured Image Credit: Leon Neal / Staff / Getty
Judge orders Elon Musk to immediately destroy any financial data he obtained from millions of Americans
Elon Musk has now been blocked from accessing the Treasury’s payment system
A judge has ordered Elon Musk to immediately destroy any financial data he has obtained from millions of Americans.
The world’s richest man has controversially taken center stage in the Trump administration following his appointment as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
While it technically isn’t a governmental body, the department has been described by Trump as an outside advisor on government spending.
Elon Musk has now been blocked from accessing Treasury data (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Since Trump re-entered the Oval Office last month, fears have grown over Musk’s involvement.
Last week, the Tesla boss gained access to the Treasury’s payment system and protests broke out in Washington DC when elected officials were blocked from entering the Department of Education building.
The public have raised concerns over the possibility that Musk can access confidential information including social security numbers and Medicare benefits payments.
And it certainly seems like he’s been sifting through a lot of information, after he made claims that widespread fraud is happening in the payment of ‘federal entitlements’, which includes things like social security.
Taking to his own social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Musk said: “At this point, I am 100% certain that the magnitude of the fraud in federal entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, etc) exceeds the combined sum of every private scam you’ve ever heard by FAR. It’s not even close.”
This ruling is absolutely insane! How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent? That’s literally impossible! Something super shady is going to protect scammers.
New York Judge Paul Engelmayer just forbade all political appointees — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — from accessing Dept. of Treasury data, all based on Blueanon conspiracy theories!! Those theories couldn’t be challenged because the order was EX PARTE — meaning…
In a previous tweet, Musk claimed that $100 billion a year was being paid to people with no social security number or ‘even a temporary ID number’.
The SpaceX CEO went on to say: “When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!! This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.”
However, Musk’s investigation into the matter is on hold for now, after New York judge Paul A. Engelmayer placed an injunction to block him from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans.
The preliminary injunction came into effect on Saturday (February 8), and will last until the next court hearing on Friday (February 14).
As part of the ruling, Musk and his team have been ordered to immediately destroy any copies of records that they have.
Elon Musk has warned about ‘widespread fraud’ in Treasury payments (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
This comes after the Trump administration was sued by 19 state attorneys general, who claim that giving DOGE access to the records violates federal law.
Musk doesn’t seem best pleased by the injunction, which he has taken to X to describe it as ‘absolutely insane’.
He wrote: “How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent?”
In the judge’s order, it said that states would ‘face irreparable’ harm if immediate relief wasn’t implemented.
The order continued: “That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Elon Musk issues major social security warning over ‘widespread fraud taking place’
He has since been blocked from accessing Treasury data by a judge
Elon Musk has issued a major social security warning over ‘widespread fraud taking place’.
The billionaire has found himself at the center of President Trump’s administration after taking on the role of head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
While it is not technically a governmental department, the president revealed that it will act as an outside advisor for federal spending, with Musk saying that he will slash federal spending by trillions of dollars.
Elon Musk has warned about ‘widespread fraud’ in Treasury payments (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Controversy was sparked last week when DOGE was granted full access to the Treasury payment system, with fears growing that Musk may be able to access confidential information including social security numbers and Medicare benefits payments.
Now, Musk has claimed that widespread fraud is happening in the payment of ‘federal entitlements’, which includes things like social security.
Taking to his own social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Musk said: “At this point, I am 100% certain that the magnitude of the fraud in federal entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Disability, etc) exceeds the combined sum of every private scam you’ve ever heard by FAR. It’s not even close.”
In a previous tweet, Musk claimed that $100 billion a year was being paid to people with no social security number or ‘even a temporary ID number’.
The Tesla boss went on to say: “When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!! This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.”
In another post, Musk wrote: “the social security database is not de-duplicated, meaning you can have the same SSN [social security number] many times over, which further enables MASSIVE FRAUD!!”
Elon Musk has now been blocked from accessing Treasury data (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Speaking to Newsweek, Max Richtman, who is the president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said: “Social security beneficiaries and their families have every reason to be alarmed by Elon Musk’s takeover of the US Department of Treasury’s payment system, which is responsible for paying Social Security benefits.
“Seniors, their families, and people with disabilities most certainly cannot trust Trump and Musk with their crucial federal benefits – or their personal data. We hope that the courts will halt this effort to hijack the Treasury Department’s payment system for blatantly political purposes.”
For now, Musk has been blocked from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans by an injunction put in place by New York Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.
It’s a move that Musk called ‘absolutely insane’.
The next court hearing will take place this Friday (February 14).
