The South African magnate, Elon Musk, agreed to pay 10 million dollars to dismiss the legal battle that former U.S. President Donald Trump had initiated against the platform Twitter, now known as X, for being excluded following the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. This decision was made despite the close relationship between Trump and Musk, who has been a close political ally of the former president.
During the last electoral campaign, Musk became an important ally of Trump and since the beginning of his second term has been at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), responsible for cutting federal spending and bureaucracy. The suspension of Trump's account in January 2021 by the platform X occurred amid the political tension resulting from the 2020 presidential elections and the Capitol assault led by the former president's supporters.
In July 2021, Trump filed the lawsuit against Twitter, arguing that the suspension of his account violated his right to freedom of expression. Although the lawsuit was initially dismissed by a federal judge in California in May 2022, Trump decided to appeal the decision.
Finally, according to sources close to the matter cited by the Wall Street Journal on February 12, Trump's legal team considered abandoning the lawsuit after Musk agreed to pay 10 million dollars to resolve the case. This decision was made considering the proximity between Musk and Trump, as well as the significant financial support that Musk provided to the former president during his term.
