Brazil's top judge faces possible suspension as Musk intensifies attacks and Starlink's funding is frozen.

• On Wednesday and Thursday, Elon Musk criticized Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes after the court mandated X to hire a legal representative in the country.
• The conflict between de Moraes and Musk regarding Brazil's social media regulations has persisted.
• Starlink finances in Brazil have been frozen by De Moraes' court, as reported by Globo News, due to alleged violations of Brazilian law.

On Thursday, Elon Musk, the leader of Tesla, SpaceX, and X Corp., intensified his online attacks against Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, as the political and legal battle between the tech billionaire and his companies and Brazil's highest court continues to escalate.

On Wednesday, De Moraes' court declared that Musk and X Corp. must appoint a legal representative for Twitter in Brazil within 24 hours, or face suspension of their activities there.

The suspension of X in Brazil could lead to significant business issues for the struggling social network. With over 171 million active social media users in Brazil, as per market research by Oosga, the impact could be severe.

In preparation for October's municipal elections, Brazil's laws mandate that social networks hire someone to handle government takedown notices related to political misinformation.

Earlier this month, the company announced it was removing all its employees from Brazil, and since then, X has not had any employees in the country.

On Wednesday night, Musk shared a manipulated image of de Moraes appearing to be in prison. He captioned the post, "One day, @Alexandre, this picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words," and addressed it to de Moraes and his 195.8 million followers on X.

On Thursday, G1 Globo in Brazil reported that de Moraes had ordered the freezing of all financial assets of Musk's companies in Brazil, including SpaceX-owned Starlink, to guarantee the payment of fines the court had levied against X.

Starlink announced on Wednesday that it had been ordered by Brazil's Supreme Court Justice @alexandre de Moraes to freeze its finances and prohibit financial transactions in the country.

"Starlink has stated that the order to pay fines against X is unconstitutional and based on an unfounded determination. The order was issued in secret without providing Starlink with due process of law as guaranteed by the Constitution of Brazil. The company intends to address the matter legally."

SpaceX's satellite internet service, Starlink, has been approved for commercial operations in 105 countries, including Brazil. Under Musk's management, Starlink has advertised on X and Musk has encouraged Brazilians to use Starlink to access X.

On Thursday afternoon, CNBC did not receive a response from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino, or any other representatives for SpaceX regarding additional information requested.

On Thursday, Musk accused de Moraes of being a criminal who was pretending to be a judge. He also referred to Lula as a lapdog of the tyrant, @Alexandre, who is the dictator of Brazil and was elected President in 2022.

Bolsonaro, a long-time Musk ally, granted Musk the right to operate Starlink in Brazil and awarded him a medal for his contributions to the country. Bolsonaro's right-wing supporters have become visible fans of the tech billionaire.

De Moraes' supporters praise his court's efforts to combat harmful online misinformation in Brazil, while critics accuse him of overstepping his role as a censor.

An investigation into Musk and X Corp. was initiated by judge de Moraes on April 7, this year, over allegations of obstruction of justice.

By April 15, lawyers representing the social network informed the Brazil Supreme Court that they would comply with the court's orders to restrict or suspend some popular accounts on X, despite Musk's earlier announcement that he would defy the orders.

The court of de Moraes is also probing Musk and X as part of a broader investigation into digital militias in Brazil, individuals accused of spreading false information online to undermine democratic institutions in the country.

The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives issued a subpoena to X Corp., requesting them to disclose information about orders from the Brazilian court regarding content moderation. The Republican-controlled committee, which is concerned about censorship, released information about the Brazilian court's orders asking X to suspend or remove approximately 150 user accounts from its platform in recent years.