The European Commission said it will “make sure” it receives money owed by Elon Musk’s X after the company was fined €120 million for failing to meet transparency rules.
The Commission on Friday said X has breached transparency and deceptive design obligations under the EU’s platforms regulation, the Digital Services Act, and issued the €120 million penalty.
The decision set off a cascade of accusations of censorship from U.S. officials, Musk and his supporters, with some suggesting the company should refuse to pay the fine.
For the ultra wealthy it’s more of a matter of pride and loss of power than the actual money. People like Musk loathe being held accountable, so even if the amount is equivalent to $7 for us, having to pay it hurts him more than it would us.
That’s not even considering that his wealth is mostly in unrealized gains from non-liquid assets so he probably can’t just write a check for $120m. Having to cash in stocks to pay it would actually lower his net worth more than $120m.
I think your second point is key. Once we’re talking about billions or trillions of dollars the number doesn’t really represent the same currency normal people use to pay their bills or buy food, it becomes a measure of power and political influence. Fines and taxes are scary because they serve as a reality check, they need to be paid in real money, where as things like net worth and stock valuation are in big part arbitrary and vibes-based.