CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, along with his son X Æ A-Xii and President Trump, in the Oval Office on February 11, 2025. Musk has been appointed by President Donald Trump to oversee federal cost-reduction initiatives.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump remarked that Elon Musk’s $10 million payment to settle a lawsuit he filed against the social media platform Musk now owns was “quite the bargain.”
In a pre-recorded interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump expressed hope for a larger settlement.
“It’s very low. I was aiming for much more than that,” Trump stated, seated next to Musk during the discussion.
Musk, appearing taken aback when the question arose, responded: “I let the lawyers and the team managing Twitter handle it.”
Following the riots at the Capitol on January 6, Twitter, which has now been rebranded as X, suspended Trump, citing potential for further violence. Subsequently, Trump filed a lawsuit against the platform alleging censorship.
However, those legal arguments faced setbacks in court. A U.S. District Judge in California dismissed the case, determining that First Amendment rights could only be infringed by governments, not private entities. Trump’s legal representation appealed to a federal court, which also seemed doubtful regarding Trump’s claims.
Despite this, Trump’s lawyers continued to advocate for the case’s continuation long after Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, drawing closer to Trump in the subsequent two years, culminating in Musk becoming his largest benefactor during Trump’s successful campaign last November.
Despite collaborating in the White House, Musk’s legal team negotiated a $10 million payment to Trump to conclude the ongoing litigation. Earlier this month, Musk’s attorneys indicated in a court submission that the lawsuit would be voluntarily dismissed. The Wall Street Journal was the first to break news of the settlement.
This marks the second tech company payment to Trump following his removal from social media platforms. Just last month, Meta agreed to pay $25 million to settle claims regarding Trump’s suspension from their Facebook and Instagram platforms.
Trump has also filed a lawsuit against Google for suspending him from YouTube, which remains unresolved.
The agreement between Musk’s X and Trump, referenced by the president during Tuesday’s interview, is notable given Musk’s significant position within the White House.
Tasked by Trump with spearheading an initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk has been granted extensive authority to reduce the size of the federal government through aggressive cost-cutting measures and, in some cases, efforts to dismantle entire agencies, resulting in numerous legal battles concerning the scope of executive power.
X has not replied to NPR’s inquiries for comment.
Shortly after Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022, he reinstated Trump’s account.
In the same year, U.S. District Judge James Donato dismissed Trump’s free speech case against Twitter.
“The revised complaint merely presents a collection of claims suggesting that a few Democratic members of Congress wanted Mr. Trump, alongside ‘the opinions he advocated,’ to be banned from Twitter for being contrary to their preferred viewpoints,” Donato stated in his ruling. “However, the opinions of a small number of elected officials do not represent a ‘rule of decision for which the State can be held accountable.’ Legislators are entirely free to express their views, separate from being deemed the official stance of the ‘State.'”
