Musk's X pays Trump $8 million to settle his account-ban lawsuit while Musk runs DOGE
X, owned by Elon Musk, agreed to settle Trump's lawsuit over his post-January 6 Twitter suspension; Trump's 2025 financial disclosure lists the settlement as $8 million from X Corp.
What happened
Trump sued Twitter and Jack Dorsey in 2021; a federal judge dismissed the suit in 2022, and the appeal was pending until the Ninth Circuit dismissed it on February 10, 2025, at both parties' request. X agreed to pay about $10 million, The Wall Street Journal first reported on February 12. Trump's 2025 disclosure lists the settlement as $8,000,000 from X Corp. Unlike his settlements with ABC, CBS and Meta, which went to his library foundation, and with Alphabet, which went to the Trust for the National Mall, it names no other recipient.
Why it matters
Musk was running DOGE inside Trump's administration when his company agreed to pay the president to end a lawsuit a federal judge had already thrown out. Trump's own disclosure shows $8 million from X, with no foundation or charity named as its destination.