Elon Musk Blasts EU Ruling as “Bullshit,” Calls for Union’s Abolition After $140M Hit on X

• The European Commission fined X €120 million ($140 million) for DSA violations, citing a deceptive paid blue checkmark, lack of advertising transparency, and restricted researcher data access.
• Elon Musk condemned the ruling as “bullshit,” called for the abolition of the European Union, and demanded full sovereignty be returned to individual member states.
• Incoming Trump administration officials Marco Rubio and Andrew Puzder strongly backed Musk, labeling the fine an attack on American innovation and vowing to challenge EU regulatory overreach targeting U.S. companies.

The European Commission has imposed a €120 million ($140 million) fine on X for violations of the Digital Services Act, specifically citing the design of the paid blue checkmark as deceptive, inadequate transparency in the platform’s advertising repository, and restricted access to public data for researchers. The decision marks the first major non-compliance ruling under the DSA framework that entered into force in 2022.

Elon Musk responded immediately to the announcement with a single-word post, “Bullshit,” and the following day escalated his criticism by declaring that the European Union itself should be abolished and full sovereignty returned to member states so that elected governments can more directly represent their citizens. The statements represent Musk’s sharpest public attack to date on the supranational structure of the EU.

Senior officials from the incoming Trump administration quickly aligned themselves with X’s position. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the penalty as an attack on American technology companies and the American public by foreign governments. U.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder characterized the €120 million fine as regulatory overreach aimed at stifling American innovation, adding that the administration opposes censorship and will challenge regulations that disproportionately burden U.S. firms operating overseas. Both officials emphasized expectations of fair and reciprocal trade treatment from the EU.

Under the terms of the ruling, X must submit a remediation plan within 60 days addressing the blue-checkmark design deemed misleading to users and within 90 days for the advertising repository and researcher data-access shortcomings. Non-compliance with these commitments can trigger periodic penalty payments in addition to the initial fine.

The case stems from a two-year investigation launched shortly after the DSA’s adoption. European regulators have maintained that the post-2022 shift to a paid verification system created confusion over the authenticity of accounts bearing the blue checkmark and that X failed to meet mandatory transparency obligations for political and issue-based advertising as well as obligations to provide meaningful data access to approved researchers.

The convergence of Musk’s outspoken rejection of the EU’s authority with early and unequivocal support from the top ranks of the new U.S. administration signals a potentially significant escalation in transatlantic tensions over digital regulation at a moment when the DSA and the parallel Digital Markets Act are being enforced with increasing frequency against large U.S.-based platforms.

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