Musk credits science fiction writers, particularly Robert A. Heinlein, for inspiring many of his personal views and business ventures, including SpaceX, Grok, and his libertarian inclinations.^[338]^[339] Since joining Twitter (now known as X) in 2009,^[340] Musk has been an active user and has over 163 million followers as of November 2023^[update].^[341] He posts memes, promotes business interests, and comments on contemporary political and cultural issues.^[342] Musk's statements have provoked controversy, such as for mocking preferred gender pronouns,^[343]^[344] comparing Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler,^[345] endorsing the far-right German Alternative for Germany (AfD) party,^[346] and calling for British far-right activist Tommy Robinson to be released from prison.^[347]

The New York Times describes his contributions to international relations as "chaotic", and critics of Musk argue that there is a lack of separation between his opinions and his business interests.^[348] As CEO of Twitter, Musk emerged as a source of misinformation and right-wing conspiracy theories, for example by suggesting online details about mass murderer Mauricio Garcia's apparent interest in Nazism could have been planted as part of a psyop.^[349] Some have said he is transphobic in response to actions taken by Twitter under his guidance.^[350]^[351]

Finance

Musk said that the US government should not provide subsidies to companies, but impose a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.^[352]^[353] The free market, in his view, would achieve the best solution, and producing environmentally unfriendly vehicles should have consequences.^[354]

Tesla has received billions of dollars in subsidies.^[355] As of February 2024, Tesla has made $9 billion from government-initiated systems of zero-emissions credits.^[356] Tax credits offered in California, at the United States federal level, and by other governments have enabled Tesla's battery electric vehicles to be price-competitive in comparison with internal combustion engine vehicles and facilitated initial consumer adoption of Tesla vehicles.^[357]

Musk, a longtime opponent of short-selling, has repeatedly criticized the practice and argued it should be illegal.^[358]^[359] Wired magazine speculated that Musk's opposition to short-selling stems from how short sellers have an incentive to find and promote unfavorable information about his companies.^[360] In early 2021, he encouraged the GameStop short squeeze.^[361]^[362]

In December 2022, Musk sold $3.6 billion of his stock in Tesla, equal to 22 million shares in the company,^[363] despite pledging earlier in the year that he would not sell any additional shares.^[364]

Technology

Musk has promoted cryptocurrencies and supports them over traditional government-issued fiat currencies.^[365] Given the influence of Musk's tweets in moving cryptocurrency markets,^[366] his statements about cryptocurrencies have been viewed as market manipulation by some, such as economist Nouriel Roubini.^[367] Musk's social media praising of Bitcoin and Dogecoin was credited for increasing their prices. Consequently, Tesla's 2021 announcement, against the backdrop of Musk's social media behavior, that it bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, raised questions.^[368] Tesla's announcement that it would accept Bitcoin for payment was criticized by environmentalists and investors, due to the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining. A few months later, in response to the criticism, Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla would no longer accept payments in Bitcoin and would not engage in any Bitcoin transactions until the environmental issues are solved.^[369]^[370]

Despite The Boring Company's involvement in building mass transit infrastructure, Musk has criticized public transport and promoted individualized transport (private vehicles).^[371]^[372]^[373] His comments have been called "elitist" and have sparked widespread criticism from both transportation and urban planning experts, who have pointed out that public transportation in dense urban areas is more economical, more energy efficient, and requires much less space than private cars.^[372]^[374]^[373]

Existential threats

Musk has been described as believing in longtermism, emphasizing the needs of future populations.^[375] Accordingly, Musk has stated that artificial intelligence (AI) poses the greatest existential threat to humanity.^[376]^[377] He has warned of a "Terminator-like" AI apocalypse and suggested that the government should regulate its safe development.^[378]^[379] In 2015, Musk was a cosignatory, along with Stephen Hawking and hundreds of others, of the open letter on artificial intelligence, which called for the ban of lethal autonomous weapons.^[380] Musk's AI stances have been called alarmist and sensationalist by critics such as computer scientist Yann LeCun and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg.^[381]^[382] The think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation awarded Musk its Annual Luddite Award in 2016.^[383]

Musk has described climate change as the greatest threat to humanity after AI,^[384] and has advocated for a carbon tax.^[385] Musk was a critic of President Donald Trump's stance on climate change,^[386]^[387] and resigned from two presidential business advisory councils following Trump's 2017 decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.^[388] In 2021, Musk donated $100 million to fund a competition for new carbon removal ideas.^[389] However, Musk's lifestyle has been criticized for high greenhouse gas emissions,^[390] and SpaceX has been found violating environmental regulations by repeatedly polluting waters in Texas.^[391]^[392] In an interview with Trump in August 2024, in the lead-up to the 2024 United States presidential election, Musk tried to educate Trump on climate change,^[393] but chose not to challenge Trump's dismissive remarks on the issue.^[394]^[395] In the same interview, Musk stated that the economy would collapse without oil and gas, repeating previous statements that it was wrong to "vilify" the oil and gas industries.^[396]^[397]^[398]^[399]

Musk has long promoted the colonization of Mars and argues that humanity should become a "multiplanetary species".^[400] He has suggested the use of nuclear weapons to terraform Mars.^[401]^[402] He envisioned establishing a direct democracy on Mars, with a system in which more votes would be required to create laws than remove them.^[403] Musk has also voiced concerns about human population decline,^[404]^[405] saying that, "Mars has zero human population. We need a lot of people to become a multiplanet civilization."^[406] Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council session in 2021, Musk claimed that the supposedly declining birth rate, and consequent population decline, is one of the biggest risks to human civilization.^[407] According to anonymous sources inside SpaceX speaking with The New York Times, Musk has repeatedly volunteered his sperm to help colonize Mars.^[408] He has denied this claim.^[409]

Politics

Musk is an outlier among executives who typically avoid partisan political advocacy.^[410]^[411]^[412] By early 2024, Musk had become a vocal and financial supporter of Donald Trump.^[413] He was his largest individual 2024 presidential campaign donor and largest individual donor of the 2024 election.^[414]

While previously considered relatively apolitical and moderate, Musk has shifted to the right and become more vocal about his views, notably since acquiring Twitter in 2022,^[415] and his views are now generally described as right-wing and conservative.^[416]^[417]^[418]^[419]^[420] He has shared far-right misinformation^[421]^[422]^[423] and numerous conspiracy theories.^[424]^[425] Despite this, he still describes himself as politically moderate, rejecting the conservative label.^[426]

Musk was a registered independent voter when he lived in California.^[427] Historically, he has donated to both Democrats and Republicans,^[428] many of whom serve in states in which he has a vested interest.^[429] Beginning in the late 2010s, his political contributions have shifted almost entirely to supporting Republicans.^[430]

Musk voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential election.^[431] In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Musk endorsed candidate Andrew Yang and expressed support for his proposed universal basic income.^[432] He also endorsed Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign.^[433] He voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential election.^[434]

In May 2022, Musk said that he could "no longer support" the Democrats, arguing they are the "party of division & hate",^[435]^[436] and wrote a tweet encouraging "independent-minded voters" to vote Republican in the 2022 US elections.^[437]^[438] That fall he gave over $50 million to Citizens for Sanity, a conservative political action committee that ran advertisements in swing states attacking Democrats on issues such as transgender care and illegal immigration.^[439] He supported Republican Ron DeSantis for the 2024 US presidential election, giving $10 million to the campaign in 2023,^[439] and hosted DeSantis's campaign announcement on a Twitter Spaces event.^[440]^[441]^[442] In August 2023, Musk suggested Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy should be the vice presidential candidate on the Republican ticket.^[443]

After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Musk wished Trump a speedy recovery and endorsed him for president.^[444]^[445] In a July 2024 post on X, Musk shared a deepfake video of Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's opponent in the 2024 presidential election, which appeared to show Harris saying she was the "ultimate diversity hire" and did not know how to manage the United States.^[446] Musk wrote that the video was "amazing" and did not reveal that it was edited, despite X prohibiting "synthetic, manipulated" content "that may deceive".^[446]

In August 2024, Musk and Trump spoke for over two hours on a livestream on X, in which Musk suggested that Trump create a government efficiency commission which he offered to serve on.^[447] Trump said he would "love" to have Musk involved and later said he needed Musk's help to eliminate the Department of Education.^[447] On September 15, 2024, after the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Musk wrote on X that it was odd that nobody had tried to kill Biden or Harris.^[448] After widespread condemnation, he deleted the post,^[448] but the United States Secret Service said it was opening a probe.^[449]

In October 2024, Musk joined Trump on stage at a campaign rally.^[450] In November 2024, news media described how Musk was "sharing and posting demonstrably false anti-Harris disinformation to his 200 million followers"^[451] on X and promoting conspiracy theories and falsehoods about Democrats, election fraud^[451] and immigration in support of Trump.^[452]^[453]

After becoming president-elect, Trump announced that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would run a new Department of Government Efficiency, and advisory commission to the President.^[454] Musk was described as derailing a December 2024 continuing resolution bill to fund the government by posting numerous false and misleading claims about the bill's content on his X account, including false claims of it funding bioweapons labs and requiring vaccine mandates.^[455]

Musk opposes a "billionaire tax",^[456] and has argued on Twitter with more left-leaning Democratic politicians such as Bernie Sanders,^[457]^[458] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,^[459] and Elizabeth Warren.^[460] He has criticised the Black Lives Matter protests, particularly regarding the authenticity of the phrase "Hands up, don't shoot".^[461]^[462] Musk promoted a baseless theory relating to the attack of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, but later deleted the tweet.^[463] He also used X to spread disinformation and election conspiracy theories about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's relief efforts for Hurricane Helene.^[464] Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger requested that X remove a fabricated video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant who had voted multiple times. Musk complied, but the video had already gone viral.^[465]

In December 2024, Musk expressed support for the H-1B visa program, which allows the hiring of highly-skilled foreign workers, especially by the technology companies in the United States, while some far-right activists such as Laura Loomer opposed it on X.^[466]^[467]^[468]

Department of Government Efficiency

US president-elect Donald Trump announced on November 12, 2024 that Musk would become an inaugural leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a governmental advisory body that will "slash excess regulations [and] cut wasteful expenditures". Vivek Ramaswamy was initially named as a coleader.^[469]^[470] Musk advocated for the DOGE to operate as a small team within the federal government, while Ramaswamy envisioned it as an outside nongovernmental organization. Musk also differed from Ramaswamy in wanting a technology and data-driven approach to cut spending, whereas Ramaswamy pushed for regulatory reforms in statute.^[471]

On January 20, 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency, officially styled the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, was established by executive order under the jurisdiction of the United States DOGE Service, in the Executive Office of the President. Musk was appointed as sole administrator of the organization after Ramaswamy departed the Trump administration. Musk said that his role as the head of the DOGE would be unpaid.^[472]^[473]^[474]^[475] The executive order tasked the DOGE with modernizing governmental information technology to "maximize governmental efficiency and productivity", although it can potentially encompass other projects such as reducing expenditures, cutting regulations, and restructuring federal agencies. The DOGE was formed as a temporary organization, set to expire on July 4, 2026.^[476] Musk said that he would aim for reducing $2 trillion in spending from federal outlays, later saying that his target contained overage and would be a best-case scenario.^[477]

Musk was given office space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, with about 20 people working for the DOGE in the main office. The DOGE will also have teams of at least 4 people in each federal agency to implement the DOGE agenda. The DOGE agency teams would have "full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems", allowing Musk to use expertise from his business ventures to achieve his aims. Musk was authorized to recruit outside volunteer experts to staff the DOGE.^[471]^[477]^[472] Prior to the setup of government offices, Musk initially staffed the DOGE effort by scouting his businesses for talent, with SpaceX's Washington, D.C. offices being used to house dozens of employees working on DOGE initiatives.^[471]

Conservative PAC activities

In 2022, Musk provided over $50 million to fund Citizens for Sanity, a conservative political action committee (PAC) created by former Trump senior advisor Steven Miller to finance $93 million in advertisements related to culture war issues. The New York Times and OpenSecrets reported in October 2024 that some of Musk's donations were routed through Building America's Future, a non-profit organization and the hub of a dark money network supporting Trump. The organization created "Progress 2028", which promoted misinformation about the agenda of Democratic presidential candidate Harris, and was presented as the left's response to Project 2025, Musk has also promoted the Fair Election Fund, which is heavily funded by Building America's Future, and offers rewards for evidence of election fraud. That organization is heavily involved in America PAC, which is founded and funded exclusively by Musk.^[478]^[479]^[480]^[481]^[482] In October 2024, a Federal Election Commission filing showed that Musk contributed almost $75 million to his America PAC during the previous three months, and during that time, the PAC spent approximately $72 million to support Trump's campaign.^[483]^[484]

In October 2024, Musk promoted a sweepstakes conducted by his America PAC, offering to pay $1 million per day to randomly selected registered voters in battleground states who signed a petition pledging support of the First and Second Amendments. Within days the U.S. Justice Department wrote America PAC warning that the sweepstakes might be illegal. Compensating people to register to vote violates federal law, and although registering to vote was not a condition to signing the petition, some legal analysts said the sweepstakes might induce people to register in order to participate. Musk's defenders said signing the petition did not specifically induce people to register, although he had previously said registering voters was one of his goals in Pennsylvania and had begun describing prize winners as America PAC "spokespeople".^[485]^[486] After receiving the Justice Department's warning, Musk awarded two people $1 million each.^[487] On October 28, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, sued Musk and America PAC.^[488] Although Musk had originally said that the prize would be "randomly" awarded, his lawyer argued that recipients "earn" the money after being "selected based on their suitability to serve as spokesperson for America PAC". After an all-day hearing on November 4, the day before Election Day, the judge ruled that Musk could continue his daily giveaway.^[489]

On October 16, 2024, Musk created and contributed $20.5 million as the sole donor to an "RBG PAC" that used the initials and name of former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to try to convince voters that Trump would not sign a national abortion ban.^[490] The PAC was formed the day after it would be required to disclose its donors before the election.^[491]

On December 6, 2024, The Washington Post reported that Musk had donated $277 million to Trump and allied Republicans, making him the single largest individual political donor in the 2024 election and the largest donor since at least 2010, not counting candidates who funded their own campaigns, according to data from OpenSecrets. The Post described Musk as being referred to by some Republicans as "the Soros of the right".^[414]

International politics

Alongside his direct involvement in US politics, Musk frequently comments and is active within the politics of various countries and international bodies, where he has frequently shared support for right-wing to far-fight political ideas,^[492]^[493] and has been sometimes accused internationally of spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation.^[494]^[495]^[496]^[497] He frequently shares his political views on international politics through his social media company X.

Musk's international political activity has come under increasing scrutiny, especially in Europe, due to his position in the incoming US Government,^[498] with some saying his actions and comments appear as "foreign interference" in domestic affairs.^[499] Musk's comments and actions have received increasing criticism from the Governments and Leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Spain and Germany.^[500]^[501]^[502]^[503]^[504]

United Kingdom

In November 2023, Musk restored Tommy Robinson's account on X (Twitter), which had been banned under Twitter's previous owners. In August 2024, Musk responded to Robinson's post criticizing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the riots taking place in the UK.^[505] Musk later said, "Shouldn't you [Starmer] be concerned about attacks on *all* communities?"^[506] Musk responded to a tweet that the riots were due to the "effects of mass migration and open borders", with "Civil war is inevitable."^[507] Starmer's spokesman responded there is "no justification for comments like that".^[508]^[509] Musk went on to refer to the Prime Minister as "two-tier Keir".^[510] Musk promoted a conspiracy theory that the UK government was planning to build detainment camps in the Falkland Islands to hold rioters.^[511]^[512]

In November 2024, Musk wrote that Britain was "going full Stalin" following the government's decision to end the inheritance tax exemption on agricultural assets worth more than £1 million.^[513]

In December 2024, The Standard reported that Musk was planning to donate $100 million to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party ahead of the next UK election, aiming to help Farage become Prime Minister, and may route the funds through X's UK branch to bypass donation laws.^[514] The following month, Musk called for a new election in the UK, saying "only Reform can save Britain".^[515] Musk also called for Robinson to be released from prison, following his sentencing in October 2024 for contempt of court.^[347] Farage publicly stated that Robinson was not welcome in Reform UK.^[516] Musk then called for the resignation of Farage as leader of Reform UK for not having "what it takes".^[517]

In January 2025, Musk criticized the UK government over its refusal for a public inquiry into the child abuse scandals in northern UK towns such as Oldham and Rotherham, where many young girls were exploited by "grooming gangs" of adult men.^[518] Musk called for minister Jess Phillips to be jailed and said she is a "rape genocide apologist",^[519]^[520] when Phillips denied requests for a national government inquiry and instead suggested that the local Oldham Council may commission an inquiry.^[521]^[522] Minister Wes Streeting responded that Musk's comments were "misjudged and certainly misinformed".^[523]^[524] Musk further claimed that Phillips was a hypocrite,^[525]^[526] since she had called member of parliament George Galloway "a rape apologist" when he had questioned the rape accusation against Julian Assange.^[527]

Musk also called for Prime Minister Starmer to be arrested for his record as a former top national prosecutor during the child abuse scandals.^[528] Musk posted a poll on X asking whether the US should "liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government".^[529]^[530] Musk's comments were condemned by Starmer.^[531] Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called for the UK government to summon the US ambassador over the "interfering" comments, due to Musk's position in the incoming US government.^[532] On Broadcasting House, Neil Kinnock urged politicians from all parties to unite against Musk, warning that his increasing power, particularly with his role in the Trump administration, posed a threat to the UK.^[533]

Germany

Tesla has one of its largest factories in Germany, which opened in 2022.^[534] According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk has been "souring" on Germany and its leaders long before December 2024.^[534]

In December 2024, Musk endorsed the German far-right AfD party, stating "Only the AfD can save Germany" on his X account.^[535] The endorsement came after previous comments Musk posted in June 2024 where he stated he did not believe AfD's policies were far-right and criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, calling him a "fool".^[536] Following the revelation that the suspect in the 2024 Magdeburg car attack was a far-right, anti-Islam advocate who had praised Musk and the AfD,^[537]^[538]^[539]^[540] Musk tweeted that suspect's atheism was a "scam to avoid extradition".^[541] Later in December, Musk penned an op-ed supporting the AfD in Die Welt.^[542]^[543]^[544]

In his 2025 new year address to the German people, Chancellor Scholz, appeared to criticize Musk's political activity relating to Germany on X saying that the federal election will be decided by the German people and "will not be decided by the owners of social media channels."^[545]^[546]^[547]

On January 3, 2025, Musk announced he would be hosting a livestream with AfD leader Alice Weidel, which would be held on X, ahead of the federal elections.^[548] The proposed livestream has caused backlash from German political leaders who have argued it could be election interference.^[549] Musk's position as a member of the incoming Trump Administration led to Rolf Mützenich, leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag to make a statement in which he asked if the "interference in the election campaign were also expressed in the name of the new US government."^[550]

In the interview, which took place January 9,^[551] Musk said that his views were shaped by personal experiences dealing with German regulation and his observations about its political culture.^[534] The European Commission announced that the interview would be analyzed to assess whether it adheres to European Union (EU) law, ensuring the platform does not give any political party preferential treatment,^[552] and could potentially impact the ongoing investigation of Musk's X, for breaches of the EU Digital Services Act, which aims to combat misinformation on digital platforms and promote transparency of social media practices.^[553]^[554]^[555]

Israel

In a YouTube podcast interview on November 10, 2023, Musk criticized Israel's retaliatory actions in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war, saying that Hamas "wanted to commit the worst atrocities that they could in order to provoke the most aggressive response possible from Israel". He added that, "if you kill somebody's child in Gaza, you have made at least a few Hamas members who will die just to kill an Israeli."^[556] On November 17, 2023, Musk announced a policy change on the X platform, stating that X users who use terms such as "decolonization" and "from the river to the sea", or similar expressions that "necessarily imply genocide" of the Jewish people in Israel, will be suspended.^[557] Several weeks later, Musk traveled to Israel where he toured with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu the kibbutz Kfar Aza, site of one of the worst atrocities during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. He described the experience as "jarring".^[558]

China

Musk has praised China and has been described as having a close relationship with the Chinese government, allowing access to its markets for Tesla.^[559] After Gigafactory Shanghai produced its first batch of vehicles, Musk thanked the Chinese government and Chinese people while criticizing the United States and its people.^[560]^{: 207–208} In 2022, Musk wrote an article for China Cyberspace, the official publication of Cyberspace Administration of China, which enforces Internet censorship in China. His writing the article was described as conflicting with his advocacy for free speech.^[561]^[562] Musk later advocated for Taiwan to become a "special administrative zone" of China which drew cross-party criticism from Taiwanese lawmakers.^[563]^[564]^[565]

Russia

In October 2022, Musk posted a Twitter poll and "peace plan" to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine by allowing Russia to keep the Crimea Peninsula, while Ukraine would adopt a neutral status and drop the bid to join NATO.^[566]^[567] It was reported that Musk allegedly spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin prior to the proposal, which Musk denied.^[568]^[569]^[570] Musk has repeatedly expressed concern that a protracted war between Russia and Ukraine could lead to the use of nuclear weapons and the outbreak of World War III.^[571]^[572]^[573]

The Wall Street Journal reported in October 2024 that Musk had been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin, Sergey Kiriyenko, and other high ranking Russian government officials since late 2022, discussing personal topics, business and geopolitical matters. The Kremlin denied the report, stating Musk and Putin had spoken only once.^[574]^[575] The Journal reported that in one instance Putin had asked Musk to avoid activating his Starlink satellite system over Taiwan, to appease Chinese president Xi Jinping, according to a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the situation.^[576] Bloomberg and others had also previously reported in July 2023 that communications between Taiwan and SpaceX had broken down over the ownership of Starlink's subsidiary in the country.^[577]^[578]

The communications with Putin were reported to be a closely held secret in government, given Musk's involvement in promoting the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump. One person said no alerts were raised by the US government, noting the dilemma of the government being dependent on Musk's technologies.^[576] Democrat lawmakers and NASA administrator Bill Nelson stated that it should be investigated to find out if the report was accurate. "We should investigate what Elon Musk is up to to make sure that it is not to the detriment of the national security of the United States", elaborated Representative Adam Smith.^[579] SpaceX officially responded via their X account stating, "Starlink is not available [in Taiwan] because Taiwan has not given us a license to operate, and regulators declined to remove a requirement that a foreign entity own 51% of Starlink to operate there. SpaceX has not accepted such a condition for any market in which it operates."^[580]

Accusations of antisemitism

Civil rights group The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and several media outlets have accused Musk of sowing antisemitism due to his promotion of George Soros conspiracy theories,^[581] although some Israeli officials defended Musk and denied that his criticism of Soros constituted antisemitism.^[582]

On November 15, 2023, Twitter user Charles Weber, a Jewish conservative, posted a video from StopJewishHate.org condemning the phrase "Hitler was right"; Weber captioned the video: "To the cowards hiding behind the anonymity of the internet and posting 'Hitler was right': You got something you want to say? Why don't you say it to our faces."^[583]^[584] In response, a second user posted "Okay. Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. I'm deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don't exactly like them too much. You want truth said to your face, there it is." To the latter user, Musk replied, "You have said the actual truth."^[583]^[584] Musk further clarified that he does not believe that "all Jewish communities" hate white people, but specifically took aim at the ADL.^[585] He added, "You right [sic] that this does not extend to all Jewish communities, but it is also not just limited to ADL."^[586]

The first tweet was widely regarded as echoing white nationalist sentiments^[587] and affirmed another antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews push hatred against Whites.^[588]^[589] The following day, Musk made a tweet which critics regarded as supporting white pride.^[590]^[591] Advertisers distanced themselves from his tweets.^[592]

At the DealBook Summit on November 29, 2023, after comments from Disney CEO Bob Iger explaining his decision to stop advertising on X after Musk's recent post, journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin questioned Musk about the withdrawal of advertisers. Musk responded, "I hope they stop. Don't advertise" and "If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is"; Musk singled out Iger, saying, "Hey Bob, if you're in the audience."^[593]^[594] Musk acknowledged to Sorkin that one of his tweets—the one affirming an antisemitic conspiracy theory—was a mistake, saying, "I handed a loaded gun to those who hate me and to those who are antisemitic and for that I am quite sorry."^[595] Musk described his tweet as "one of the most foolish, if not the most foolish, thing I've done".^[596]^[597]

In January 2024, Musk visited the Auschwitz concentration camp with European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Jewish conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro and Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev.^[598] He also spoke on a conference about rising antisemitism.^[599] The New York Times described the trip as a part of an image "rehabilitation tour".^[600]

Salute at Trump inauguration

In his speech during the second inauguration of Donald Trump, Musk thumped his right hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, and then extended his right arm out, emphatically, at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together. He then repeated the gesture to the crowd behind him. As he finished the gestures, he said to the crowd, "My heart goes out to you."^[602] The gesture was viewed as a Nazi or Roman salute^[e] by some, including politicians Yolanda Díaz, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jerry Nadler, as well as historian of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat.^[603]^[604]^[605] Austria's Green Party and Germany's Die Linke called for Musk to be banned from entering their respective countries, citing the salute and his support for right-wing extremism and ongoing interference in European politics.^[606]^[607] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Musk was "falsely smeared".^[608]

Musk derided the claims as being politicized,^[609]^[610] in one post he wrote: "The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired",^[611] but did not explicitly deny the claims.^[612] The Anti-Defamation League stated that Musk did not make a Nazi salute, but "made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm". Jared Holt from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks online hate, also said that he is skeptical it was on purpose, and that it could indicate a sort of gesture of thanks to the crowd.^[612]^[613] However, former ADL national director Abraham Foxman described the gesture as a "Heil Hitler Nazi salute".^[614] In further response to the events, Musk posted a series of puns about Nazis on Twitter, which the ADL condemned as "inappropriate" and "highly offensive".^[615]

Various media outlets, including the Associated Press, reported that regardless of what Musk meant, his gesture was widely embraced by right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis.^[612]^[616]

COVID-19

Musk was criticized for his public comments and conduct related to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[617]^[618] He spread misinformation about the virus, including promoting a widely discredited paper on the benefits of chloroquine and claiming that COVID-19 death statistics were inflated.^[619]

In March 2020, Musk stated, "The coronavirus panic is dumb."^[620]^[621] In an email to Tesla employees, Musk referred to COVID-19 as a "specific form of the common cold" and predicted that confirmed COVID-19 cases would not exceed 0.1% of the US population.^[617] On March 19, 2020, Musk predicted that there would be "probably close to zero" new cases in the US by end of April.^[618] Politico labeled this statement one of "the most audacious, confident, and spectacularly incorrect prognostications [of 2020]".^[622] Musk also falsely stated that children "are essentially immune" to COVID-19.^[623]^[624]

Musk condemned COVID-19 lockdowns and initially refused to close the Tesla Fremont Factory in March 2020, defying the local shelter-in-place order.^[617]^[625]^[626] In May 2020, he reopened the Tesla factory, defying the local stay-at-home order,^[627]^[628] and warned workers that they would be unpaid, and their unemployment benefits might be jeopardized, if they did not report to work.^[628] In December 2022, Musk called for prosecution of former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci.^[629]^[630]

In March 2020, Musk promised that Tesla would make ventilators for COVID-19 patients if there were a shortage.^[631] After figures such as New York City mayor Bill de Blasio responded to Musk's offer,^[632] Musk offered to donate ventilators which Tesla would build or buy from a third party.^[631] However, Musk ultimately purchased and donated BiPAP and CPAP machines rather than ventilators.^[633]^[634]

In September 2020, Musk stated that he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, because he and his children were "not at risk for COVID".^[635]^[636] Two months later, Musk contracted COVID-19 but suggested his COVID-19 rapid antigen test results were dubious, as he had been tested four times on the same device with the same nurse but had received equal numbers of positive and negative results.^[637] Following this, a postdoctoral fellow at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto explained in a Tweet why this result does not undermine the value of the test, referring to Musk as "Space Karen", which then trended on Twitter.^[637]^[638] In December 2021, Musk said that he and his eligible children had received the vaccine, saying that the science behind the COVID vaccines was "unequivocal" but expressing his opposition to COVID vaccine mandates.^[639]