Business Maverick

Business Maverick

Brazil’s top justice opens criminal inquiry against Elon Musk

Brazil’s top justice opens criminal inquiry against Elon Musk
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., at the Tesla automotive plant in Gruenheide, Germany, on Wednesday, 13 March 2024.

Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes opened an inquiry into whether Elon Musk obstructed justice, escalating a spat with the billionaire over his social media platform X. 

Moraes said in a document released by the court the billionaire “started a disinformation campaign” and that X — formerly known as Twitter — is committing abuse of economic power in order to “illegally influence public opinion.” Musk was also added to a criminal inquiry that investigates anti-democratic acts by so-called “digital militias.”

The court’s response comes after Musk said he would defy court orders and lift restrictions imposed on some X accounts in Brazil. The billionaire targeted Moraes in several of his social media posts during the weekend, accusing the justice of betraying the constitution and calling for his impeachment. 

Coming shortly, 𝕏 will publish everything demanded by @Alexandre and how those requests violate Brazilian law.

This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached.

Shame @Alexandre, shame.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2024

It’s unclear which accounts Musk was referring to when he said he would disobey the court’s order. As of Sunday night, a number of accounts linked to right-wing Brazilian entrepreneurs, former politicians and digital influencers remained blocked. 

In his Saturday post, Musk also said that the Brazilian court was threatening to cut off access to X in the country. Local news media reported on Sunday that network operators were warned by regulator agency Anatel of a possible need to take down access to the X platform.

Gallery

Comments - Please in order to comment.

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

Premier Debate: Gauten Edition Banner

Gauteng! Brace yourselves for The Premier Debate!

How will elected officials deal with Gauteng’s myriad problems of crime, unemployment, water supply, infrastructure collapse and potentially working in a coalition?

Come find out at the inaugural Daily Maverick Debate where Stephen Grootes will hold no punches in putting the hard questions to Gauteng’s premier candidates, on 9 May 2024 at The Forum at The Campus, Bryanston.