Musk’s X and NMPA End Dueling Lawsuits with Joint Dismissals

Elon Musk’s X Corp. and major music publishers have officially ended their multi-year legal battle. On July 16, 2026, both sides filed joint stipulations of dismissal across two U.S. federal courts.

The publishers’ $250 million copyright infringement suit was dismissed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Simultaneously, X’s antitrust lawsuit against the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and 18 publishers was dismissed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Both cases were dismissed with prejudice under Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), permanently preventing either party from refiling their respective claims.

A Three-Year Escalation

The conflict began in June 2023 when 17 music publishers—including Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and Warner Chappell Music—sued then-Twitter, alleging rampant unlicensed music use across roughly 1,700 catalog works.

In March 2024, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger dismissed direct and vicarious infringement claims, leaving only a contributory infringement claim active. Settlement talks stalled in 2025, leading X to counter in January 2026 with an antitrust suit alleging publishers colluded through the NMPA to demand “supracompetitive rates” via massive takedown notices.

Legal Turning Point

The tide turned in March 2026 when a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment established that service providers are not liable for user infringement unless they actively induce it or operate specifically for piracy. X subsequently argued that this ruling eliminated the publishers’ sole remaining claim.

Neither court filing reveals whether a confidential settlement was reached or if X has agreed to a blanket music licensing deal similar to those maintained by rivals like Meta, YouTube, and TikTok.