Elon Musk's X paying Trump staggering amount slammed as 'corruption like we’ve never seen before’

Elon Musk’s social media platform X/Twitter is paying US President Donald Trump $10m compensation and some people are calling it “corruption”.

The company has agreed to pay Trump around $10m (£8m) after it suspended his account on the platform in the aftermath of the deadly January 6 riots, during which Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol building in Washinton DC in 2021.

Trump sued X/Twitter, as well as Meta and Alphabet Inc (the owner of Google), in addition to their chief executives, over what he claimed was the unlawful silencing of conservative views. Meta recently agreed to pay Trump $25 million for the same thing.

At the time, when it was still known as Twitter, the platform defended its decision, citing the risk that Trump could incite further violence with the use of his account.

However, since the judgement was made, tech billionaire and Trump fanboy Musk has purchased the site. Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X.

Reports in the Wall Street Journalsuggest that Trump had been considering dropping the legal action after Musk’s takeover, but they have decided to settle.

It comes after Musk gave $250 million (£202m) to Trump’s 2024 election campaign and was made the head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The news has sparked concerns of “corruption” among some.

“Amazing. Musk spent 250 million dollars to elect Trump. Has since become a ‘special government employee’ of Trump. And is now paying Trump 10 million dollars to settle a ridiculous lawsuit.

“The conflicts, the corruption, are just beyond anything we have ever seen before,” journalist Mehdi Hasan wrote.

Another argued: “Quid pro quo doesn't even begin to cover what this is.”

Musician Grimes recently hit out at Musk over his decision to bring their son, X Æ A-Xii to a press conference alongside Trump in the Oval Office. Meanwhile, the billionaire has already made a staggering amount of money since “investing” in Trump.

Indy100 has contacted X/Twitter for comment.

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