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Elon Musk has backed down and complied with a Brazilian judge’s orders to appoint a legal representative for X, court documents show, paving the way for the social media site to be reinstated in the country after a weeks-long ban.
X was banned in Brazil late last month due to a growing feud between the billionaire and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who had demanded that the site remove accounts linked to far-right individuals and groups.
Elon Musk refused to do so and closed X’s office in the Latin American country. He then ignored a court deadline to appoint a legal representative for the company – a requirement under the country’s civil code – leading Moraes to ban the platform.
Moraes, a controversial figure who has led a crackdown on disinformation and extremist content online for years, also froze the bank accounts of X and Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink, saying the companies were part of the same “economic unit.”
Starlink is a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX, in which Musk owns about 40% of the shares but 79% of the voting rights.
On Saturday, the standoff between the billionaire and the judge appeared to be coming to an end after X’s lawyers announced that the company had appointed an official legal representative. Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição previously held the position before Musk closed the company’s São Paulo office.
Several media outlets also reported that X had agreed to delete the controversial accounts that were at the center of the feud between the two men.
X and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
The developments represent a setback for Musk, who has been idolized by some sections of the Brazilian right for publicly attacking Moraes.
The billionaire has repeatedly mocked the judge on social media, accusing him of being a dictator and posting photos of him in prison.
“One day this picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words,” Musk posted at one point.
Moraes, however, has won the support of powerful political figures, including the rest of the Supreme Court and leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“The Brazilian justice system may have sent an important signal that the world does not have to tolerate Musk’s far-right attitude, anything goes, just because he is rich,” Lula said after the ban was announced.
Before the ban, X had about 20 million users in Brazil and was the ninth most popular social network, far behind Instagram and Facebook. Following Moraes’ ban, millions of Brazilians began using Bluesky, a similar microblogging site.
On Saturday, X remained stuck in Brazil awaiting Moraes’ requests for information and the calculation of unpaid fines.
Additional reporting by Beatriz Langella and Hannah Murphy
