Don Lemon is moving forward with his lawsuit against Elon Musk. This week a San Francisco judge ruled that the former CNN journalist’s lawsuit against Musk and X (formerly known as Twitter) for breach of contract can proceed to trial. In his ruling Judge Harold Kahn declared that Lemon and his legal team plausiby showcased that X and Musk committed “fraud by false promise” and the presence of “an implied contract” in their case, per CNBC.
“The ruling means Don can hold X and Musk accountable in open court,”Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian, said in a statement to Deadline. “Musk is subject to the legal process, just like everyone else, and that’s important. There’s no question about Musk’s motives and liability, as documented in his own texts and on X for millions to see.”
In 2024, Lemon launched an exclusive talk show on X. However, shortly after taping the first episode, which featured a tense interview with Musk, Lemon claims Musk terminated his contract via text. In August 2024, he filed a lawsuit against the tech billionaire and his social media platform. In the filing, Lemon claims that Brett Weitz, X’s former head of content, talent and brand sales told him that the platform is “not going to pay him or follow through with the promises and representations made to him because there was no signed agreement, despite Musk previously representing to Lemon that there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to ‘fill out paperwork.’”
While the judge dismissed Lemon’s claims of negligent misrepresentation, defamation, retaliation, negligence, and harassment, he did confirm the journalist’s claims of fraud, misappropriation of name and likeness, and breach of implied contract. Lemon’s lawsuit is only one of many Musk and X face for failing to provide severance after layoffs and non-payment to vendors.
A date has not been set for the journalist’s case against the Tesla mogul.
