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Elon Musk has backed down and complied with a Brazilian judge’s order that he appoint a legal representative for X, paving the way for the social media site to be restored in the country after a weeks-long ban, according to court documents.
X was banned in Brazil late last month amid escalating tensions between the billionaire and a Supreme Court judge. Alexandre de Moraeswho asked the site to remove accounts linked to far-right individuals and groups.
Musk refused to do so and closed X’s offices 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 — prompting Moraes to ban the platform.
Moraes — a controversial figure who has led a years-long crackdown on disinformation and extremist content online — also froze the bank accounts of both X and Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink, claiming the companies are part of the same “economic unit.”
Starlink is a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX, in which Musk owns about 40% of the shares but holds 79% of the voting rights.
On Saturday, the standoff between the billionaire and the judge appeared to come to a close after X’s attorney announced that the company had appointed an official legal representative. Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição previously served in that role before Musk closed the company’s São Paulo office.
Multiple 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 mark a decline for Musk, who has been revered by some parts of Brazil’s right wing for his public criticism of Moraes.
The billionaire repeatedly mocked the judge on social media, accusing him of being a dictator and posting mocking photos of him in prison.
“One day this picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words,” Musk posted at one point.
However, Moraes has won the support of many powerful political figures, including Supreme Court judges and leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“The Brazilian justice system could have sent an important signal that the world has no obligation to tolerate Musk’s arbitrary extreme right-wing attitudes 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 media platform, well behind Instagram and Facebook. After Moraes’s order, millions of Brazilians began using Bluesky, a similar microblogging site.
On Saturday, X remained blocked in Brazil pending Moraes’ request for information and calculation of the outstanding fine.
Additional reporting by Beatriz Langella and Hannah Murphy
