Personal and business legal affairs of Elon Musk

The personal and business legal affairs of Elon Musk encompass the legal cases involving businessman Elon Musk as the plaintiff, defendant, or concerning his companies.

On-going

Defendant cases

Custody Battle with Grimes

In July 2024, Musk faces a Texas-based custody battle with Grimes for their three children after Grimes' mother accused him for withhold passport of her grandchildren.[1]

False flag lawsuit

In October 2023, a US Jewish citizen from California sued Musk, accusing him of falsely claiming that he was a neo-Nazi.[2]

Severance pay

Former Twitter executives sued Musk and X Corp. for US$128 million in unpaid severance in March 2024. In the filing, the plaintiffs alleged that Musk had acted in revenge against them personally.[3] A district judge dismissed Musk's bid to dismiss the case on November 1, 2024.[4]

Business cases

Tesla

Main article: List of lawsuits involving Tesla, Inc.

Drug use

In May 2024, a Tesla shareholder added a complaint to an existing lawsuit by accusing Musk's alleged illicit drug use of jeopardizing Tesla's performance.[5]

Resolved

Plaintiff cases

OpenAI principles lawsuit

In March 2024, Musk sued OpenAI, claiming the company violated its principles.[6] Musk withdrew his lawsuit in June.[7][8]

Defendant cases

Defamation

In December 2019, a federal court jury dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by a British cave explorer who Musk had branded a "Pedo guy" on Twitter.[9]

Business cases

Defamation

In May 2024, a federal judge dismissed X Corp.'s lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, citing a California law against strategic lawsuits against public participation.[10]

Dogecoin lawsuit

In June 2022, Musk, SpaceX, and Tesla were sued for allegedly inflating the price of Dogecoin.[11] A Manhattan judge dismissed the case in August 2024, calling Musk's statements "aspirational".[12]

Severance pay

In July 2024, a US judge dismissed a case brought by former Twitter staff, who accused Musk of "unlawfully denying roughly $500m in severance payments owed to workers fired after his takeover of the company."[13] At least one former employee was awarded unpaid severance in September in a closed-door arbitration.[4]

Other cases

Musk is funding Gina Carano's wrongful termination lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company.[14]

References

1. "Musk and Grimes Appear in Court for Custody Battle". Business Insider.
2. Mekelburg, Madlin (October 3, 2023). "Elon Musk Sued for Defamation Over 'False Flag' Neo-Nazi Claim". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
3. Kolodny, Lora (2024-03-04). "Former Twitter execs sue Musk and X for more than $128 million in severance". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
4. "Former Twitter execs sue Musk and X for more than $128 million in severance". Yahoo! Finances. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
5. "Musk Faces Lawsuit for Drug Use, X Posts Under the Influence". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
6. Satariano, Adam; Metz, Cade; Mickle, Tripp (March 1, 2024). "Elon Musk Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for Violating the Company's Principles". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
7. "Elon Musk drops lawsuit against OpenAI".
8. "Elon Musk Revives Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman". New York Times.
9. "Tesla boss Elon Musk wins defamation trial over his 'pedo guy' tweet". Reuters.
10. Oremus, Will; Telford, Taylor (May 29, 2024). "Musk tried to 'punish' critics, judge rules, in tossing a lawsuit". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
11. Van Voris, Bob (June 16, 2022). "Musk, Tesla, SpaceX Are Sued for Alleged Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
12. "Musk Beats Suit Over Promoting Dogecoin 'Pyramid Scheme'". Bloomberg News. August 30, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
13. "Musk defeats ex-Twitter staff seeking $500m in severance". BBC. August 30, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
14. Barnes, Brooks (February 6, 2024). "Elon Musk Is Funding Ex-'Mandalorian' Actress's Suit Against Disney". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2024.