Elon Musk will redirect all lawsuits relating to X to the Texas district that suits him

By choosing this district with values ​​close to yours, does Elon Musk want to be judge and party? X’s new terms of use now mention that any user who wants to sue the platform will be referred to the court of the Northern District of Texas starting November 15. But according to Reuters, one of the Fort Worth city court judges is known to own shares in Tesla, another Musk property. Conflicts of interest must be feared.

A judge with conservative opinions

According to ReutersChoosing the location of your audience has become common practice for American companies. So to discourage any attack against his social network, the Tesla boss chose a strategic location. The particularity of the court of the Northern District of Texas is distinguished by a very conservative line close to the Republican Party.

Please note that in the United States, the territory is divided into 94 judicial districts (different from the 50 states). In each of these districts, the president of the United States appoints several judges for life. Of the 11 judges in the Northern District of Texas, 10 were appointed by Republican presidents and the 11th was appointed by Democrat Bill Clinton.

But one of these judges draws special attention. Reed O’Connor has served the city of Fort Worth since George W. Bush appointed him in 2007. He notably opposed the Obamacare welfare law, as well as Joe Biden’s reforms regarding LGBTQ rights and restrictions on the carrying of weapons. Therefore, he is close to the values ​​defended by the Republican Party, just like Elon Musk.

X, a regular at court

This strategy gives Elon Musk an advantage in the numerous legal proceedings initiated against his platform X. The social network is especially at the center of two cases. The first consists of a boycott of advertisers after the billionaire’s acquisition of

Initially, Reed O’Connor was in charge of both cases but for the boycott case, the judge ended up recusing himself. His investments in Unilever (one of the advertisers in question) and his shares in Tesla did not guarantee his impartiality.

As for the defamation case involving Media Matters, Reed O’Connor refuses to resign at this time. The trial is scheduled to take place in 2025 at the Fort Worth courthouse.