Elon Musk is facing serious trouble in Europe. The European Union is considering penalizing Musk over censorship violations on X, but it could calculate those fines using revenue from his other ventures — SpaceX, Neuralink and the rest.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), platforms can face fines as high as 6% of their annual global revenue for failing to handle illegal content and disinformation.
EU targets Musk
The European Commission has launched multiple investigations into X for possibly breaking the DSA. Musk owns X privately, meaning the EU might treat him as the entity responsible, not just the company.
Tesla, though, is safe from this. Since it’s a publicly traded company, it doesn’t fall under Musk’s direct control.
But if the EU decides to proceed, the effect could be massive. And while penalties are still being discussed, X could avoid fines if it manages to calm down the EU regulators.
According to sources, X will have a chance to contest any fine. But ultimately, the decision lies in the hands of the EU Commission.
Musk, being Musk, has already declared he would fight any potential DSA fine in “a very public battle in court.”
At the same time, his political involvement this election cycle is ramping up. Musk has dumped $75 million into America PAC, the super political action committee he launched this year to support Donald Trump.
This catapults him into the league of top political donors as he’s bankrolling a large portion of the Republicans’ campaign.
The PAC is paying for get-out-the-vote campaigns in battleground states to boost turnout for Trump. A lot of that cash, $68.5 million to be precise, has already been spent supporting him.
Some of these funds are going into digital ads aimed at young men, a strategy aimed at balancing Vice President Kamala Harris’ stronger support among women.
All the money Musk pumped into the PAC came from him alone. Federal Election Commission filings show Musk made seven contributions between July 3 and September 5. By October, the PAC had $4 million left.
The organization is hiring canvassers, offering to pay $30 per hour to gather support for Trump. America PAC says it supports candidates who push for border security, public safety, and free speech.
Musk and Trump’s growing alliance
Musk has been quite vocal about his support for Trump since his assassination attempt in Pennsylvania a few months ago.
Musk is using X to promote Trump’s campaign and spread claims the former president makes about immigration, violence, and the economy.
His X profile even includes a link to America PAC. On October 5, Musk and Trump appeared together at a rally in the same place the assassination attempt happened.
Trump invited Musk on stage, calling him “a truly incredible guy.” If Trump wins, he’s even hinted that Musk could be offered a role in the next administration, possibly to lead an effort aimed at cutting government waste, a project Trump has referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The acronym is also a nod to Dogecoin, a meme coin Musk has promoted heavily. But Trump still trails Harris in fundraising.
She has spent $314 million on media buys in seven critical battleground states, compared to Trump’s $173 million. That fundraising gap also gives her the upper hand in organizing, with 330 field offices open across those key states.
These offices have over 2,000 staff members working on voter mobilization. The race is incredibly tight. In the battleground states, Trump only leads Harris by 0.7% according to Real Clear Politics polling averages.
