Musk with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson and President-elect Donald Trump on November 16, 2024
Businessman and political activist Elon Musk is a focal point of extensive press coverage, with public attitudes towards him fluctuating at various points throughout his career.
Although his ventures have been highly influential within their separate industries starting in the 2000s, Musk only became a public figure in the early 2010s. He has been described as an eccentric who makes spontaneous and impactful decisions, while also often making controversial statements, contrary to other billionaires who prefer reclusiveness to protect their businesses. Musk's actions and his expressed views have made him a polarizing figure.[1] Biographer Ashlee Vance described people's opinions of Musk as polarized due to his "part philosopher, part troll" persona on Twitter.[2]
Musk has been described as an American oligarch due to his extensive influence over public discourse, social media, industry, politics, and government policy.[3] His influence in the second presidency of Donald Trump led some to call him the "actual president-elect", "shadow president" or "co-president".[4][5]
Musk hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) in May 2021.[35] In August 2024 cast member Bowen Yang said that a male host who had "made multiple cast members cry" was the worst behaved host he had witnessed on SNL.[36] Cast member Chloe Fineman confirmed that the host was Musk and said that his behavior had made her cry.[37] Musk responded that his behavior was due to believing that the material was not funny.[38][39]
2018 cannabis incident
In September 2018, Musk was interviewed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, during which he appeared to smoke a joint.[40] In 2022, Musk said that he and other SpaceX employees had subsequently been required to undergo random drug tests for about a year following the incident, as required by the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 for federal contractors.[41] In a 2019 60 Minutes interview, Musk had said, "I do not smoke pot. As anybody who watched that podcast could tell, I have no idea how to smoke pot."[42]
In January 2025, several online influencers and game streamers claimed Musk cheated on Path of Exile 2 and Diablo IV by hiring outside services to invest hours of play into his accounts.[45] Musk initially responded by criticizing one of his accusers, the YouTuber Asmongold.[46] Musk later briefly took away Asmongold's verification on Twitter and leaked direct messages between the two of them.[47][48] Musk's ex-partner Grimes defended his accomplishments saying that she had witnessed many of his Diablo IV records.[49][50] Musk has since admitted to using account boosting services while stating that "It's impossible to beat players in Asia if you don't."[51][52]
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. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured."[53][54][55] The gesture was viewed as a Nazi or Roman salute[b] by some, including politicians Yolanda Díaz, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jerry Nadler, as well as historian of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat.[56][57][58] 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.[59][60] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Musk was "falsely smeared".[61]
Musk derided the claims as being politicized,[62][63] in one post he wrote: "The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired",[64] but did not explicitly deny the claims.[65] 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.[65][66] However, former ADL national director Abraham Foxman described the gesture as a "Heil Hitler Nazi salute".[67] 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".[68] 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.[65][69]
In the wake of a mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas, on May 6, 2023, Musk baselessly tried to cast doubt on evidence collected by journalists regarding the shooter's political beliefs.[72] Law enforcement officers said in a press conference that the shooter, Mauricio Garcia, had "neo-Nazi ideation",[73] and large Nazi tattoos on his body, including a swastika and the SS lightning bolt logo.[74][75][76] Musk doubled down on his denial of the evidence that the shooter was a white supremacist in a CNBC interview on May 16.[77]
In early June 2023, Musk boosted a tweet promoting an antisemitic blood libel conspiracy theory about adrenochrome, frequently invoked as part of QAnon, by replying to it with a cryptic remark about an image of Mel Gibson in the tweet.[78][79]
In July 2023, Musk commented on Bronny James' cardiac arrest, tweeting "we cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing."[80]
In November 2023, Musk endorsed a tweet referencing an antisemitic conspiracy theory that "hordes of minorities" are infiltrating Western countries and that Jews are pushing hatred against white people. The White House condemned Musk's endorsement of the tweet as "unacceptable".[81][82]
In late November 2023, Musk tweeted a meme promoting the widely discredited far-right Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which alleged that the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders ran a secret Satanic child sex ring in a D.C. pizzeria known as Comet Ping Pong. After a few hours, Musk deleted the tweet.[83]
Notes and references
Notes
^In 2024, Musk's Royal Society membership was criticized by 74 members over his alleged anti-scientific behavior and promotion of misinformation, prompting debates about the society's standards on membership and leading to the resignation of Dorothy Bishop, a neuropsychologist at the University of Oxford, who cited her dissatisfaction with the Society's response.[13]
^The "Roman salute" is a gesture which was used by Italian Fascists, then adopted by the Nazis. It is not believed to have been used by ancient Romans.
^Parker, Ashley; Dawsey, Josh; Scherer, Michael (November 13, 2024). "Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, becomes Donald Trump's 'first buddy'". The Washington Post. ISSN0190-8286. Retrieved December 19, 2024. Now, during the transition, Musk has emerged somewhere between unofficial co-president and "first buddy," as he put it in an X posting — bounding in and out of meetings, sitting in on phone calls, weighing résumés and generally becoming as ubiquitous at Mar-a-Lago as the club's gilded inlay.
^Metzger, Bryan (December 19, 2024). "Trump team makes clear Elon Musk isn't the leader of the GOP". Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 15, 2025. It came after scores of Democrats baited Trump with social media posts accusing Musk of being the actual president-elect, the "shadow president," or the "co-president."
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