Why Elon Musk is fighting with a Supreme Court justice in Brazil – Rest of World

Lately, it is hard to say why Elon Musk does what he does.

You can pick out themes like right-wing populism or a libertarian founder cult, but they dont explain things like the extended harassment of former Twitter executives or the obvious production blunders of the Cybertruck. In many cases, he seems to have given up on strategic thought.

The latest example came from Brazil, where Musk has stumbled into a feud with Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes. In a string of tweets over the weekend, Musk complained about a series of broad legal orders from the judge, which he refuses to comply with. The Brazilian Supreme Court responded by opening a criminal inquiry into Musk himself. The orders are secret, so its hard to say who is impacted or even if Musks description of them is accurate but its broadly in line with what we know about the Brazilian courts. Most observers believe the restrictions have to do with the January 8 mob attacks, in which Jair Bolsonaros supporters stormed federal buildings in Braslia, but given the secrecy, its impossible to say for sure.

As I reported last year, Musk has rarely contested legal orders to X so its telling that hes intervening here on behalf of Bolsonaro, with whom hes been friendly in the past. In keeping with his usual habits, Musk seems to have announced the policy in a reply tweet to a Dogecoin art account.

Musks strategy, even in the short term, is hard to divine. Assuming he refuses to comply with the Brazilian Supreme Courts orders, he would trigger a $20,000-a-day fine. If the standoff escalates, it could easily result in X being banned from operating in Brazil. That would cut off Latin Americas most populous country at a moment when the platform is scrambling for profitability. Brazilian judges have banned both Telegram and WhatsApp under similar circumstances, both of which are far more important to everyday Brazilians than X.

The bigger problem is how badly Musk has misjudged the political terrain in Brazil. The January 8 attacks on Congress are widely recognized in the country as a constitutional crisis, pitting the personal cult of Bolsonaro against the powers of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court won, and the kind of denialism that dominates American views of January 6 has never taken hold.

For organizers like Bruna Santos, who manages global campaigns for the human rights group Digital Actions, that makes judicial overreach the lesser of two evils. If it wasnt for things like the fake news inquiry, we really dont know what would have happened, Santos told me. That was crucial for Brazilian democracy to continue functioning. In short, desperate times call for desperate measures and Brazils desperate times are still ongoing.

Its unfortunate because Musk has hit on a valid set of complaints. The broad secrecy around the orders makes them impossible to publicly defend; we dont have the information we would need to say that theyre necessary for democracy. But the response to that should be reform rather than complete surrender. Brazil doesnt have a clear notice-and-takedown system in place, and it needs one. The fake news bill flamed out last year and got even further away this week but some version of the proposal is still within reach. Those measures can only come from within Brazil, with a clear eye towards the countrys real political problems. Interventions from a posturing tech billionaire are going to make that task harder, not easier.

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Why Elon Musk is fighting with a Supreme Court justice in Brazil - Rest of World