US District Judge Reed O’Connor has recused himself from Elon Musk’s lawsuit alleging that advertisers targeted X, formerly known as Twitter, with an illegal boycott. O’Connor, who holds stocks in both Tesla and Unilever, was seen as Musk’s preferred judge in the lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and other large corporations.
Musk’s X Corp. filed the lawsuit in the Wichita Falls division of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, presumably to increase the chances of landing O’Connor. However, due to O’Connor’s investment in Unilever, one of the defendants, he decided to recuse himself from the case.
“I hereby recuse myself from the above numbered case,” O’Connor stated in a court filing. Consequently, the case has been reassigned to District Judge Ed Kinkeade, who is based in Dallas. Both judges were appointed by President George W. Bush.
A financial disclosure report for 2022 revealed O’Connor’s investments in Unilever and Tesla, placing his stocks at roughly $15,000 or less in the former and between $15,001 and $50,000 in the latter.
This is not the first time O’Connor’s Tesla stock has posed a conflict. In another ongoing lawsuit between X and Media Matters for America, O’Connor’s stockholding raised questions about his impartiality. Media Matters has scrutinized the potential conflict of interest and demanded O’Connor’s recusal, arguing that a financial interest in Tesla could compromise his impartiality in matters relating to Musk and his companies.
X Corp. has argued that O’Connor should not have to recuse himself from the Media Matters case, claiming the arguments for conflict of interest are “tenuous and speculative.” However, the debate over his impartiality continues to loom large.
Newly assigned Judge Kinkeade, whose 2023 financial disclosure report lists rental properties and bank interest but no stock in the companies involved in the current suit, will now preside over the case.
The reassignment marks a significant procedural turn in Musk’s ongoing legal battles surrounding his corporate interests and the challenges they face.