Musk's Advertising Lawsuit Names AbbottMusk's Advertising Lawsuit Names Abbott

Elon Musk's X broadened an existing lawsuit on Saturday to include several major brands, including Abbott Laboratories, accusing more companies of illegally boycotting the social media platform.

February 4, 2025

1 Min Read
Close-up photo of Elon Musk as he arrives for the inauguration of Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025.
Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk arrives for the Inauguration of Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20 in Washington, DC. Image credit: Kevin Lamarque - Pool/Getty Images

Elon Musk's X is now going after Abbott Laboratories, along with several other major companies, accusing them of illegally boycotting the social media platform in 2022 following Musk's acquisition.

X first filed the lawsuit last year in federal court in Texas, initially targeting the boycott organizer, the World Federation of Advertisers, along with some companies. But on Saturday, Musk's lawyers filed an amended complaint, adding Abbott and several other big brands as defendants, NPR reported. So far, Abbott is the only medtech company named in the suit.

As of press time, Abbott has not responded to MD+DI's requests for comment regarding the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that at least 18 advertisers part of an initiative called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) stopped buying ads on Twitter (now X) in the weeks after Musk bought the platform in November 2022. Other GARM members "substantially reduced" their ad spending on Twitter, according to the lawsuit. X claims it lost billions of dollars in advertising revenue and the ramifications of the boycott continue to be felt years later.

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