Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has escalated his conflict with the Brazilian government by threatening to seize its assets. This bold move follows a string of disputes between Musk and the Brazilian authorities, including legal battles over his company X (formerly Twitter) and the freezing of SpaceX’s finances.
On Monday, Musk took to X and issued a stark warning, stating that if the Brazilian government doesn’t return “illegally seized” property belonging to X and SpaceX, he will retaliate by seizing Brazilian government assets. He made this statement while sharing a news piece about the US seizing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane. Musk’s post also included a sarcastic jab at Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, saying, “Hope Lula enjoys flying commercial.”
This escalation stems from a growing tension between Musk and the Brazilian government. Just hours before Musk’s threat, Brazilian President Lula declared that his country should set an example for the world on how to handle Musk, stating, “The world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right ideology just because he is rich.”
The ongoing dispute worsened last month when a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered a halt to X’s operations in the country. This action followed Musk’s earlier announcement that SpaceX would continue providing Starlink satellite internet services to the Brazilian military and other users despite the Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes freezing the company’s finances.
The situation remains highly volatile, with the potential for significant repercussions on the relationship between Musk’s companies and the Brazilian government. It remains to be seen how Brazil will respond to Musk’s threat and what steps, if any, they will take to resolve the conflict.
