Musk admits his X posts may have hurt company's finances
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X, has admitted that his posts could have financially harmed the company. This revelation came to light during a deposition related to a defamation lawsuit filed against him. The suit was brought forward by 22-year-old Ben Brody last year, who claims Musk wrongfully implicated him in a conspiracy theory.
Posting habits unchanged despite X acquisition
During the deposition, Musk was questioned about his acquisition of X and its impact on his use of the platform. He stated that his posting habits "really remained unchanged before and after the acquisition." However, he conceded that this approach may have done more harm than good to X. "I've probably done — I may have done more to financially impair the company than to help it," Musk confessed.
Lawsuit centers on Musk's controversial tweets
The defamation lawsuit against Musk stems from a series of tweets he posted last summer. In these posts, he propagated a conspiracy theory that wrongfully linked Ben Brody to a clash between the Proud Boys and another extremist group in Oregon, US. Despite the controversy, Musk claimed that his post didn't attract much attention as it was merely a reply. "The replies get 100 times less attention than a primary tweet," he noted during the deposition.
Musk believes Brody wasn't 'meaningfully harmed'
Despite the allegations, Musk expressed his belief that Brody wasn't significantly affected by the false conspiracy theory he helped spread. He stated, "People are attacked all the time in the media, online media, social media, but it is rare that that actually has a meaningful negative impact on their life." This statement was made during his deposition.
Musk operated an account posing as his toddler son
In addition to the defamation claims, Musk also admitted to operating an account under the handle @ermnmusk, where he pretended to be his toddler son. This account was discovered by Motherboard and several other media outlets last year. The revelation adds another layer of controversy to the ongoing legal proceedings involving the owner of X.
Brazil investigates Musk for possible obstruction of justice
Alongside the defamation lawsuit, Musk is also facing an investigation in Brazil for possible obstruction of justice. This probe was initiated following Musk's decision to reactivate accounts on which Brazilian authorities had demanded to be blocked. The investigation was started by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, after a series of tense exchanges between Musk and the Brazilian authorities.
