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Susan Elizabeth Turek
3 min read
A controversy is brewing after a document obtained by Agence France-Presse revealed that the European Union paid hundreds of millions of euros to companies headed by Elon Musk, as reported by The Hindu.
According to The Hindu, the document shows that the EU paid Tesla €159 million (around $176 million) to build electric vehicle charging stations in 2023.
That year, it also doled out more than €600,000 for advertising on the social platform X before halting publicity amid concerns that Musk — the richest person in the world — was manipulating the social platform to promote his values or opinions to influence European affairs.
Last year, the EU also handed Musk's SpaceX a contract worth roughly $197 million for the European Galileo satellite system amid commission delays for the Ariane 6 launch system.
Musk's polarizing involvement in the United States federal government and global politics has contributed to strained transatlantic relations. The EU has also said that X, which Musk acquired in 2022, has run afoul of some of its regulations.
In short, the U.S. and the EU have different legal frameworks surrounding data protection and privacy. Arkansas State University explained in a 2020 breakdown of key regulatory differences: "The U.S. favors a bottom-up approach, reflecting states' rights in governing, while the EU likes top-down, which balances intergovernmental and supranational policies."
The EU's Digital Services Act also outlines strict obligations for online intermediaries and platforms to prevent "illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation."
Last year, the EU said Musk's X violated DSA transparency rules, per CNBC. Musk has fired back by referring to EU digital laws as censorship.
German Green EU lawmaker Daniel Freund wrote to the European Commission in March arguing that the EU shouldn't continue to make payments to the billionaire, per The Hindu.
"This man is an outspoken enemy of the EU and our core values. It is unacceptable that we continue to pay the richest man in the world hundreds of millions," Freund wrote.
Based on the most recent data analyzed by Bankrate, Tesla is Musk's most valuable investment, valued at approximately $1.22 trillion as of February.
