$140 Million Fine Sparks Fury: Elon Musk Says EU Should Be Abolished, Claims X Is Top News Source in Europe
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk said on Sunday that his social media platform, X, has become the leading source of news across European Union countries — as he lashed out at the EU following a massive $140 million fine imposed on the company.
Musk first posted that “X is seeing record-breaking downloads in many countries across Europe,” before launching into a sharp attack on the European Union. His comments came just after the penalties were announced — a move that also drew criticism from officials in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
Now number 1 in every EU country! https://t.co/tQOpiPVRkw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2025
Taking aim at the EU’s governing structure, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote: “The EU is not a democracy – the rule of the people – but a bureaucracy – the rule of unelected bureaucrats! (sic).”
Shortly afterward, Musk claimed that X was dominating news consumption across the bloc. “X is now number one in every EU country!” he posted.
Musk’s statement was based on a post from Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, which declared: “Breaking: X just became the #1 news source in every EU country – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.”
“The same 27 countries that have tried to regulate, fine and suppress it… now rely on it more than any traditional or state media. You can’t make this up (sic),” the group added.
The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 6, 2025
However, Mint reported that the claims made by the group and reshared by Musk could not be independently verified.
Why was X fined $140 million?
The $140 million fine stems from alleged violations of the EU’s strict content and transparency rules that came into effect in August 2023. These regulations govern how major tech companies handle content moderation and manage user data.
In its announcement, the EU said X was penalized for the “deceptive design” of its blue checkmark system and for poor transparency in the platform’s advertising database.
The commission also stated that X failed to meet its obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) by not providing researchers with proper access to public platform data.
“Furthermore, X effectively undermines research into several systemic risks in the EU by placing unnecessary obstacles on researchers’ access to public data,” the EU said.
Musk and Trump officials turn up the heat on EU
Following the penalty, Musk escalated his criticism, openly calling for the dissolution of the European Union.
“The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries so governments can better represent their people (sic),” he wrote in a series of posts accusing the bloc of overreach.
“Europe is sleepwalking into oblivion,” Musk said in another message.
The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) December 5, 2025
The days of censoring Americans online are over.
He also shared a post comparing the EU to the “Fourth Reich,” adding: “The second image shows the authoritarian, unelected bureaucracy that oppresses the people of Europe,” in a repost on Sunday.
Trump administration officials joined the criticism after the fine was announced. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the decision as an “attack” on American technology companies.
“The European Commission’s $140 million fine is not just an attack on—” Rubio said, before adding: “The era of online censorship of Americans is over.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 8, 2025