Elon Musk’s X Faces Court Order to Disclose Full Ownership Details

Key Takeaways

• Elon Musk is being forced to reveal who has invested in X Holdings. 
• X’s legal team claims its ownership details are private. 
• Elon Musk and X Holdings have until Sept 4 to disclose their ownership details. 

Elon Musk is facing a legal push to reveal who and what invested in X Holdings, the parent company of social media company X and AI startup xAI.

On Tuesday, Aug. 21, a federal judge in California ruled that a detailed X Holdings corporate disclosure statement must be made public by Sept. 4.

Why Is This Happening?

When Musk acquired X, formerly Twitter, in 2022, the billionaire took the company private and quickly laid off around three-quarters of its workforce. 

Since the $44 billion purchase, Musk has kept the company’s corporate and ownership structure secret for unknown reasons. 

The ruling was catalyzed by a lawsuit by a disgruntled group of former Twitter employees, who are currently seeking payment for fees accumulated from disputes with the company. 

The lawsuit claims that as a social media platform, X has a duty to be transparent with the public on who is operating it. 

Freelance journalist Jacob Silverman and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press got involved in the lawsuit to push for the disclosure to be revealed. 

“People should know who owns an important site for public discourse and whether its free-speech fundamentalist majority shareholder is doing business with censorious dictatorships,” Jacob Silverman wrote in a Wednesday, Aug 21 blog post. 

Judge Disregards X’s Arguments

Musk’s legal team’s claims that X’s ownership details were considered private and confidential by the company were ignored by the California judge. 

The judge claimed that the disclosure statement does not contain sensitive trade information. 

Musk and X said that “as a matter of routine practice and policy, X Holdings does not publish or make publicly available information regarding its owners/shareholders and treats such information as confidential.”

However, the judge claimed  that Musk and X presented little more than conjecture in support of their position.

“The disclosure statement does not contain any scandalous information or trade secrets,” the judge said. “On the record before it, the court is unable to discern a factual basis for sealing the disclosure.”

What Will It Mean for X?

The new ruling is set to give more insight into the high-profile investments made during Musk’s acquisition, many of which have been kept under wraps. 

Known investors include disgraced music giant Sean “Diddy” Combs, billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Silverman said the disclosure is crucial for transparency and accountability, which should be expected from large social media platforms like X. 

About the Author

Kurt Robson

Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN with a diverse background across several prominent news outlets. Having transitioned into the world of technology journalism several years ago, Kurt has developed a keen fascination with all things AI. Kurt’s reporting blends a passion for innovation with a commitment to delivering insightful, accurate and engaging stories on the cutting edge of technology.

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