A U.S. District Judge in Texas has recused himself from a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk against various advertisers. The judge’s decision comes after NPR noted that he had heavily invested in Tesla’s stock.
According to NPR, Federal Judge Reed O’Connor owns up to $50,000 in stock in Tesla, Musk’s electric car company. He also has invested in Unilever, one of the defendants advertisers named in Musk’s lawsuit. These investments have raised concerns about his impartiality in presiding over the case, which centers on Musk’s claims that the brands illegally conspired against X by not advertising on the platform.
“No small group should be able to monopolize what gets monetized,” X CEO Linda Yaccarino said.
This case is not the first time Musk has turned to O’Connor’s court in Fort Worth. Earlier, Musk’s X filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, a watchdog group that found that antisemitic, nazi, and overall hateful speech thrive under X’s algorithm. O’Connor has issued favorable rulings for Musk in that case, allowing extensive legal discovery before even determining the lawsuit’s merits. Media Matters has been waiting for months for a decision on its motion to dismiss, while complying with extensive document requests that its lawyers likened to harassment.
The new lawsuit against the brands has already had significant repercussions. The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), led by the World Federation of Advertisers—another defendant in the suit—announced it would shut down due to the lawsuit.
“GARM is a small, not-for-profit initiative, and recent allegations that unfortunately misconstrue its purpose and activities have caused a distraction and significantly drained its resources and finances,” the group said. “GARM therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue its activities.”
Numerous advertisers have fled the platform since Musk bought Twitter. A report by Media matters highlighted that ads from companies like Amazon, Office Depot, MLB, and the Atlanta Falcons were placed next to posts made by a verified neo-Nazi account. These companies chose to leave the platform due to dangers of advertising on it.
