Elon Musk’s X has reached a settlement with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), bringing an end to a legal battle that had dragged on for nearly two years and sharply highlighted the strained relationship between the platform and the advertising industry.

The dispute centered on claims that major brands, including Mars, Shell, Nestlé and Lego, had illegally coordinated to pull spending away from X after Musk’s takeover of Twitter in 2022.

X Corp had accused the advertisers and the WFA of conspiring to divert billions of dollars in advertising revenue from the platform through the group’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative, better known as GARM.

The advertisers rejected the allegation, insisting that brands have the right to decide where their money goes and that no platform should assume entitlement to ad spend simply because it is large or influential. What followed was a highly public clash over brand safety, free speech and the power of advertisers to protect their reputations in a changing media environment.

The case had already suffered a major setback in March when a federal judge dismissed X’s lawsuit, ruling that the company had not shown the type of antitrust injury required to sustain the claim. Even after that ruling, X pushed ahead with an appeal, keeping the dispute alive and leaving the industry watching closely to see whether Musk would secure a broader legal victory against the advertising establishment.

That fight now appears to be over. In a joint statement, X Corp and the WFA said they were putting the litigation behind them and resetting the relationship between both organisations. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but the WFA made a notable commitment that it would not form or restart GARM or any similar initiative. That alone signals just how significant the controversy had become, especially for an initiative originally created to help the industry address harmful and illegal content online.

For X, the settlement closes one of the most aggressive chapters in Musk’s campaign against advertisers who stepped back from the platform after concerns about moderation, harmful content and brand placement intensified. Advertising revenue had already fallen sharply after Musk bought the company, and the lawsuit became part of his wider effort to challenge what he saw as unfair pressure from marketers and industry groups. His public attacks on departing advertisers had only deepened the tension, turning the matter into both a business battle and a reputational one.

The settlement may not answer every question, especially around the individual brands named in the original suit, but it does draw a line under a conflict that has shaped the conversation around X’s advertising future. More importantly, it reflects a simple reality in today’s digital economy: platforms may build the audience, but brands still control the money, and that leverage remains one of the most powerful forces in media.