Elon Musk’s Deposition Reveals Admission Of Potential Financial Harm From Twitter Posts

Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted to the possibility that his posts on Twitter, the platform formerly known as, may have caused financial harm to the company, in a recently revealed deposition. 

Made public by The Huffington Post, the deposition, dated 27 March, shed light on Musk’s stance regarding his social media activity and its impact on his business ventures.

The deposition stems from a lawsuit filed by 22-year-old Ben Brody, who accused Musk of defamation. Brody alleges that Musk propagated a conspiracy theory falsely implicating him in a violent altercation between two far-right groups in Oregon. Musk, however, admitted to having a “limited understanding” of the lawsuit and appeared confused about its details during the nearly two-hour testimony.

Musk’s attorney’s attempts to keep the deposition transcript confidential were denied by the judge. Throughout the deposition, Musk maintained that his posts on Twitter remained consistent before and after his acquisition of the platform. However, he conceded that his approach, driven by personal interest rather than financial gain, might have caused more harm than good for the company.

The focus of the lawsuit revolves around Musk’s tweets last summer, where he promoted a far-right conspiracy theory linking Brody to the Oregon brawl. Brody, based in California, bore a vague resemblance to one of the participants in the brawl, leading to online trolls falsely identifying him. Musk engaged with users promoting the conspiracy theory, adding credence to their claims that the brawl was a “false flag” operation.

During the deposition, Musk expressed confusion about why Brody pursued litigation against him and questioned the motives behind it, suggesting it was a cash grab by Brody’s attorney. Despite the significant reach of Musk’s Twitter account and his public prominence, he downplayed the impact of his tweets, arguing that they didn't generate significant revenue for the platform due to their contentious nature.

Musk’s role in spreading the conspiracy theory also came under scrutiny, with Brody’s attorney highlighting the potential harm caused by Musk's posts, which reached over a million people. Despite this, Musk asserted that Brody was not “meaningfully harmed” by the false accusations. He likened online attacks to media scrutiny, suggesting they rarely have a substantial negative impact on individuals’ lives.