Elon Musk’s X drops Unilever from a lawsuit alleging that the multinational conglomerate of consumer products and others had colluded with a trade association for the advertising sector to boycott the social media network, so resulting in revenue losses.
TakeAway Points:
- Elon Musk’s X on Friday dropped Unilever from a lawsuit that claimed the consumer goods giant and others conspired with an advertising industry group to boycott the social media platform, causing it to lose revenue.
- The lawsuit accused the World Federation of Advertisers and group members Unilever, candy maker Mars, CVS Health, and Danish renewable energy company Orsted of conspiring to withhold “billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from X, previously known as Twitter.
- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that it had accepted the corrective efforts and conclusions of the SpaceX-led investigation into the Sept. 28 accident and that it had given the go-ahead for the Falcon 9 vehicle to resume flight.
Unilever gets out of lawsuit
In a filing in federal court on Friday in Wichita Falls, Texas, X said it was dismissing its claims against Unilever in the August antitrust lawsuit.
London-based Unilever, whose products include Dove soaps, Hellmann’s condiments, and Pepsodent toothpaste, said in a statement it had “reached an agreement with X, which has committed to meeting our responsibility standards to ensure the safety and performance of our brands on the platform.”
In a statement, X said it had reached an agreement with Unilever and was pleased “to continue our partnership with them on the platform.”
X declined to comment on the terms of the agreement but said it was “continuing to pursue our antitrust claims against the other defendants.”
The lawsuit accused the World Federation of Advertisers and group members Unilever, candy maker Mars, CVS Health, and Danish renewable energy company Orsted of conspiring to withhold “billions of dollars in advertising revenue” from X, previously known as Twitter.
The federation and other defendants have not responded in court, and did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
After Musk bought X in October 2022, ad revenues slumped for months.
Some advertisers had been wary of buying ads on X under Musk amid concerns their brands would appear next to harmful content, such as racist or false posts, that under prior management might have been removed.
The advertising group launched an initiative in 2019 to “help the industry address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising.”
US FAA permits SpaceX Falcon 9 to resume flight
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it had approved the return to flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle after it reviewed and accepted the SpaceX-led investigation findings and corrective actions for the mishap that occurred Sept. 28.
The FAA on Sept. 30 said SpaceX had to investigate why the second stage of its Falcon 9 malfunctioned after a NASA astronaut mission, grounding the launch vehicle for the third time in three months.
The malfunction caused the booster to fall into a region of the Pacific Ocean outside of the designated safety zone the FAA approved.
The FAA also said Friday it closed the SpaceX-led investigations for the Falcon 9 mishaps that occurred with Starlink missions in July and August.
On Sunday, the FAA said SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket could return to flight solely for a mission on Monday for the European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft from Florida.
Separately, Reuters reported this week the FAA could approve a license for the launch of SpaceX’s Starship 5 as soon as this month. Starship 5 is the fifth test launch of the company’s rocket, which it calls Starship.
The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket are a fully reusable system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, and beyond.
Last month, the FAA said it did not expect a determination on a license before late November. SpaceX said Monday Starship’s fifth flight test could launch as soon as Sunday, pending regulatory approval.
The FAA has repeatedly said it did not expect to decide on a license until late November. On Tuesday, it said only that it was still reviewing the proposed mission and would make a decision “once SpaceX has met all licensing requirements.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has harshly criticized the FAA, including for proposing a $633,000 fine against SpaceX over launch issues and for the delay in approving the license for Starship 5, which the company says has been ready to launch since August. Musk has called for the resignation of FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker and threatened to sue the agency.
