Elon Musk lashed out at the European Union on Saturday, calling for the economic and political bloc to be dismantled after regulators hit his social media platform, X, with a substantial fine. 

In a post on the site, the billionaire tech entrepreneur declared that “The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people.” He added the hashtag “AbolishTheEU.”

The European Commission on Friday announced a $140 million fine against X for breaching transparency obligations under Europe’s Digital Services Act.

The commission said the breaches included “the deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark,’ the lack of transparency of its advertising repository, and the failure to provide access to public data for researchers.”

Mr. Musk, who characterized the penalty as “bulls—,” charged that the regulatory action targeted him directly.

“The ‘EU’ imposed this crazy fine not just on X, but also on me personally, which is even more insane!” he wrote. “Therefore, it would seem appropriate to apply our response not just to the EU, but also to the individuals who took this action against me.”

He further noted, “I love Europe, but not the bureaucratic monster that is the EU.”

X now faces a strict timeline to bring its platform into compliance. The company has 60 days to present a plan to address the “deceptive” blue checkmarks and 90 days to resolve issues regarding its ad repository and data access for researchers.

The commission warned that “failure to comply with the non-compliance decision may lead to periodic penalty payments.”

The penalty drew immediate condemnation from Trump administration officials and allies on Friday. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called the fine an “abomination” and urged President Trump to impose sanctions “until this travesty is reversed.” 

Before the fine was officially announced, Vice President JD Vance said, “The EU should be supporting free speech, not attacking American companies over garbage.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that the fine “isn’t just an attack on X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.”

European officials insisted the decision was strictly a matter of regulatory compliance rather than content policing.

“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,” said Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, according to Reuters.

That did little to appease American officials, who continue to view the move as hostile.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on X that the Digital Services Act “is designed to stifle free speech and American tech companies.”

The FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, echoed that sentiment, arguing that “Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations.”