Elon Musk made a bold move today, updating his social media company's Terms of Service to state that all lawsuits that X will face will be held in Texas and that they should be held in the Northern District court. This latest change was reportedly a strategic move, as that specific court is known for having a Texan judge who previously bought stocks from Musk's EV company, Tesla.
The new terms specify that lawsuits will be held in Texas' Northern District after the court formerly specified that all cases should be processed in San Fransisco County, California, its previous headquarters.
Elon Musk Updates X's Terms to Have All Lawsuits in Texas
The latest update to X's Terms of Service is significantly changing the course of legal issues it will face from users, as Musk is now requesting that all lawsuits should be processed in Texas. According to the new terms, lawsuits or other legal disputes "will be brought exclusively in the US District Court or Northern District of Texas or state courts in Tarrant County Texas, United States."
Users were already notified of these changes in X's terms with a pop-up message on the platform but it will only take effect by Nov. 15, and it is significantly altering the course of lawsuits the company is set to face.
In a cached version of X's previous Terms of Service (via Wayback Machine), it had a similar disclaimer to the public where they would have no choice but to fight the legal battle in California.
Texas Northern District has a Judge Who Owns Tesla Stock
Ars Technica learned that this move by X is a strategic one as the company directed all lawsuits to be processed over at Texas's Northern District where a judge also owns Tesla stocks. It is also a peculiar specification as Musk's X is currently headquartered in Bastrop, with Bastrop County falling under the Western District of Texas.
The report further revealed that a professor from Vanderbilt Law School claimed that these kinds of terms are "usually" enforceable, and it only takes a click for companies to argue that users consented.
Elon Musk's Big Move to Texas
Three years ago, Musk made a big move where Tesla left behind its birthplace and original headquarters in Palo Alto, California, to transfer to its new corporate operations center in Austin, Texas. This was later followed earlier this year when he announced that his two other companies, SpaceX and X, are also making a move to Texas, and both also came from the Golden State.
It is important to note that SpaceX already has major operations over at Boca Chica, Texas, where it also established the "Starbase," its version of a launch complex that currently holds Starship flights. Additionally, Musk also wanted to create his own town over at the Lone Star State where all of his employees from SpaceX and The Boring Company can live together near their new facilities.
Apart from centering himself in Texas where his taxes are far cheaper compared to California, this was not the first time that Musk attempted to move his lawsuit over to his new home state. With this latest update to X's Terms of Service, all of the lawsuits the social media company will face should be held over at Texas' Northern District court, and this is despite X being headquartered in the Western District of the state.
