Musk: X Will Pay Legal Tab for People Fired Over Posts

CEO promises to go after employers' boards of directors, too
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2023 12:45 PM CDT
Fired Over a Post? Let X Pay Your Legal Bills, Musk Says
Elon Musk introduces a Tesla model in 2015 in Fremont, California.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Elon Musk has told X users that if they're fired over something they did on his site, the billionaire has their back—and he's not just talking about moral support. The CEO of what used to be called Twitter tweeted late Saturday night that he'll pick up the tab for fighting the firing, Insider reports. "If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill. No limit," Musk's tweet says. "Please let us know." In a subsequent tweet, Musk promised to escalate such fights.

The social media site "won't just sue, it will be extremely loud and we will go after the boards of directors of the companies too," Musk posted, per Forbes. Musk didn't say what he considers unfair treatment, and posts pointed out that perhaps the policy could apply to employees Musk has fired. He answered a few posts in response to his offer. To one by the right-wing account "Libs of TikTok" saying former President Donald Trump was "unfairly treated" by the federal government for his Twitter posts, Musk responded that "such aggressive legal action against a former president is not right."

After another of the group's posts, the CEO asked Kara Lynne about a report of her firing from a gaming company for following the "Libs of TikTok" account. "Kara, is that accurate?" Musk asked. Lynne said that it was, though the issue was more complicated it sounds. Paying such legal bills might be difficult for X, Deutsche Welle points out; Musk said last month that the site has endured a roughly 50% plunge in ad revenue and that cash flow is in the negative range. By Sunday afternoon, Musk's post had totaled over 100,000 retweets and 400,000 likes, per NPR. (More Elon Musk stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X