EU Dismisses Elon Musk’s Criticism as ‘Completely Crazy’

While Brussels railed, Marco Rubio condemned the EU fine on X, describing it as “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people.”

Commission’s spokespersons’ service / European Commission

While Brussels railed, Marco Rubio condemned the EU fine on X, describing it as “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people.”

The European Union on Monday dismissed online attacks by Elon Musk after his social media platform X was fined €120 million ($140 million) by Brussels. The European Commission’s chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho responded saying that “it’s part of freedom of speech to put out even completely crazy statements.”

The tech billionaire had lashed out at the EU following the penalty, declaring on X that the bloc “should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries.” In another post, he wrote: “I love Europe, but not the bureaucratic monster that is the EU.”

The fine followed a high-profile EU investigation into X for alleged violations of the Digital Services Act.

The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump was quick to defend Musk. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Brussels’ move, describing it as “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people.”

The Musk controversy has prompted conservative leaders like Viktor Orbán and Alice Weidel to denounce Brussels and endorse Musk’s criticism.