The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended a lawsuit against Elon Musk that accused him of concealing information about his stock purchases in Twitter (now X). Musk agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle the case.

According to The New York Times, the core of the SEC’s case was whether Musk complied with disclosure obligations required by securities law during his 2022 Twitter share acquisition. Under federal securities law, when an investor’s stake in a publicly traded company exceeds 5%, they must file a Schedule 13D with the SEC within 10 days, disclosing their holdings and intentions.

The SEC had previously alleged that Musk failed to disclose relevant information within the required timeframe after crossing the 5% ownership threshold, preventing the market and other investors from timely understanding his large-scale acquisition. This delayed disclosure may have affected Twitter’s stock price, putting other investors at a disadvantage.

Notably, the SEC has recently shown a softer stance on lawsuits against large corporations, gradually reducing its enforcement actions against major companies. This settlement is seen as part of that trend.

Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in 2022 for approximately $44 billion, one of the largest mergers in social media history. After the acquisition, he undertook massive restructuring of the platform, including layoffs, rebranding to X, and launching several controversial monetization policies.

The settlement does not mean Musk admitted wrongdoing, but the $1.5 million payment indicates both parties found an acceptable resolution. The SEC typically settles without admitting or denying the allegations.

Source: The New York Times

April 30, 2026 — Elon Musk’s social media platform X announced on Thursday that it has begun a phased rollout of a completely rebuilt AI-powered advertising platform. This marks a significant effort by X to win back advertiser trust through technological innovation after years of declining ad revenue.

AI Reshaping Ad Delivery

According to X, the new advertising platform features more modern “retrieval and ranking systems” powered by AI technology. These improvements are designed to help marketers create targeted campaigns with greater control and precision. AI will be used to enhance ad performance, offering more relevant ad placements and more accurate audience targeting.

Monique Pintarelli, head of global advertising at xAI, said in a statement posted on X: “Very few companies would have the ambition and technical courage to completely rebuild their entire advertising platform in such a short timeframe. This is classic X and xAI — bold, fast, and focused on building something substantially better for advertisers. We are designing this new ad stack to enable more rapid and seamless integration of ongoing innovation.”

Ad Revenue Showing Signs of Recovery

In the first few years following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X), the company’s advertising business suffered significant setbacks as many brands pulled their spending over content moderation concerns. X subsequently shifted its focus to other monetization channels, including AI and subscriptions.

However, eMarketer forecasts indicate that X’s ad business has been turning around recently, with estimated ad revenue of $2.26 billion in 2025, rising to $2.46 billion in 2026. While still only about half the size of Twitter’s 2021 ad business, the trajectory is heading in the right direction.

Industry Trends

AI adoption in advertising is becoming an industry-wide consensus. This week’s tech earnings season revealed that companies like Google and Meta are all benefiting from an AI-driven “digital ad boom.” The New York Times reported this week that AI systems have automated various aspects of marketing — from ad creation to targeting to measurement — while also lowering the barrier for smaller businesses to access advanced advertising tools.

Rebuilding the ad platform became a priority after X merged with xAI last year, with AI integration viewed as a key growth driver.

Source: TechCrunch