The European Union is considering a significant fine against Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), with penalties potentially calculated based on the combined global revenues of Musk’s other major companies, Tesla and SpaceX.
The threat comes amid an ongoing investigation into X’s compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates stricter rules around content moderation, transparency, and user safety for large online platforms operating in Europe. Regulators claim that X may have failed to adequately address disinformation and harmful content, putting it at risk of breaching the legislation.
What makes this case particularly notable is the possibility that the EU could link the fine not just to X’s revenue, but to the broader earnings of Musk’s corporate empire. Such an approach would be unprecedented and could result in financial penalties reaching into the billions.
EU officials argue that Musk’s influence across multiple industries gives him unique leverage, and that accountability must reflect the scale of his operations. Meanwhile, X has denied wrongdoing and maintains that it complies with applicable regulations.
The outcome of the investigation could set a major precedent for how global tech billionaires and their multi-faceted enterprises are held accountable under international digital governance laws.
