Elon Musk’s X to pay US President Donald Trump $10 million to settle lawsuit

Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has agreed to pay US President Donald Trump $10 million to settle a lawsuit the former U.S. president had filed against Twitter and its co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Trump sued X after the platform banned him in January 2021 following the US Capitol riots, citing concerns over incitement to violence. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2022, but the settlement marks a significant development in the long-standing dispute.

After acquiring Twitter in 2022, Musk reinstated Trump’s account, reversing the ban. Before making the decision, he conducted a public poll, in which 51.8% of 15 million respondents voted in favor of allowing Trump back. Musk announced the decision with the phrase: “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei” (Latin for “The voice of the people is the voice of God”).

Trump eventually returned to the platform in August 2023, posting a mugshot of himself, marking his first tweet after the two-year ban.

Musk’s financial ties to Trump

The $10 million settlement comes in addition to an estimated $250 million that Musk reportedly spent supporting Trump’s election campaign last year, further underscoring his alignment with Trump.

Twitter’s permanent suspension of Trump in 2021 was among the most severe actions taken by a social media platform against a sitting U S President. At the time, the company justified its decision by stating, “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them… we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”

Along with Twitter, Facebook and Google also banned Trump, leading him to take legal action against multiple tech companies. In January 2024, Meta agreed to settle with Trump for $25 million, while his lawsuit against Google (YouTube ban) remains unresolved.

The settlement between Musk’s X and Trump adds another layer to their evolving relationship, with both figures remaining influential in the tech and political spheres.