Topline
Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk defended tweets from Monday in which he claimed billionaire philanthropist George Soros “wanted to erode the very fabric of civilization,” claiming in an interview with CNBC that his opinion doesn’t make him antisemitic—calling himself “a pro-semite, if anything,” before adding that he will continue to voice his often controversial opinions on the site.
SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Elon Musk meets with France’s President at the Elysee … [+]
Key Facts
CNBC’s David Faber asked Musk in an exclusive interview Tuesday why he was choosing to voice controversial opinions—like the tweets attacking Soros—on Twitter when it’s possible his companies will lose money over it, to which Musk responded that he believes in freedom of speech and will say what he wants.
Monday evening—days after Soros’ investment firm disclosed it had sold off its entire holdings of Tesla stock—Musk tweeted that Soros reminded him of the Marvel comic book villain Magneto in that he wants to “erode the very fabric of civilization,” ending his tweets with: “Soros hates humanity.”
Key Background
Musk hasn’t said what prompted his most recent outburst against Soros, but the tweets were sent days after Soros Fund Management disclosed in an SEC Filing that it had sold its $16 million in Tesla stock. Soros, who has been a significant Democratic donor in the past few years, has been the target of widespread conspiracy theories from the far-right. In a recent interview, Soros dismissed “far-fetched” conspiracy theories against him pushed by “some on the right,” following former President Donald Trump’s indictment in the hush money payments case in New York. Musk’s comments were denounced by groups like the Anti-Defamation League and and American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch, who tweeted: “Comparing George Soros to Magneto, a Jewish comic book villain who is a Holocaust survivor like Soros, is extremely pointed and intentional.”
Tangent
Musk also admitted that not everyone who was let go in the cuts he made when he first arrived at Twitter should have been. He said “desperate times call for desperate measures,” and the company needed to get its business under control by making cuts, but that “some of the people who were let go probably shouldn’t have been.” He said that under new CEO Linda Yaccarino, he expects the company will be ready to hire again, hopefully bringing back some of the people he laid off.
Further Reading
Elon Musk defends inflammatory tweets: ‘I’ll say what I want’ (CNBC)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/05/16/elon-musk-defends-attacks-on-george-soros-pushes-back-on-notion-hes-antisemitic/