EU dismisses “completely crazy statements” after Musk attack

• The European Union dismissed recent social media attacks by Elon Musk after his platform, X, was fined €120 million (approximately $140 million) by Brussels for breaking digital rules.
• The EU spokesperson called Musk’s statements "completely crazy" while the fine was also criticized by the US administration, which called the penalty "an attack on all American tech platforms."

The European Union on Monday dismissed online attacks by tech tycoon Elon Musk after his social media platform X was fined 120 million euros ($140 million) by Brussels.

"It's part of freedom of speech to put out even completely crazy statements," EU spokeswoman Paula Pinho said.

Musk hit out at the EU over the weekend saying that it "should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries".

"I love Europe, but not the bureaucratic monster that is the EU," he added in another post.

X Fined 

Following a high-profile probe seen as a test of EU resolve to police Big Tech, the social media platform owned by the world's richest person was slapped with a fine on Friday for breaking the bloc's digital rules.

The penalty was swiftly criticised by the US administration of President Donald Trump, who aligned with Musk on a contentious effort to slash the federal workforce and cut spending, before the two had a falling out.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the move "an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people".