Tax evasion, animal abuse, transphobia and more — Elon Musk may be one of the world's
richest men, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a serious dark side.
Keep watching to find out more about this highly controversial billionaire.
When a group of schoolchildren became trapped in a cave in Thailand for 17 days in 2018,
rescue efforts began looking increasingly bleak, especially as the cave became flooded.
However, thanks to a dedicated team of divers, the boys were rescued.
Among those involved in the rescue effort was British diver Vern Unsworth, who was swiftly
hailed a hero by everyone involved — everyone, that is, except Elon Musk.
In fact, the Tesla CEO had a very different take on Unsworth's involvement in the endeavor.
Musk tweeted that it was, quote, "sus" that Unsworth was a British expat living in Thailand,
before baselessly – and outrageously – calling him, quote, "pedo guy" in a separate tweet.
In an email to BuzzFeed, he claimed that Unsworth, whom he referred to as a "child rapist," moved
to Thailand to procure a 12-year-old child bride, claims the diver vehemently denied.
The entirely baseless attack appeared to stem from Unsworth branding Musk's own attempts
to rescue the boys using a mini submarine as a "PR stunt”.
After Musk made his comments, Unsworth said:
"I'm not gonna make any further comment about him, but I think people realize what sort
of guy he is."
Accordingly, Unsworth launched a defamation suit against Musk, who later claimed that
he only meant to call him a "creepy old man," as opposed to a pedophile.
Musk ended up winning that legal dispute, leading some to interpret the court's decision
as prioritizing wealth over the truth.
Before Grimes there was Justine Musk, to whom Elon Musk was married from 2000 to 2008.
In an essay for Marie Claire, Justine divulged some rather unpleasant details about her ex-husband.
She alleged, among other things, that Elon forced her to dye her dark hair blonde and
treated her like an employee.
He supposedly told her:
"If you were my employee.
I would fire you."
Claiming that she was a mere "starter wife" for Elon, Justine wrote that the billionaire
initially appeared sweet and charming when he courted her.
However, it didn't take too long for the tide to turn.
She said he sneakily got her to sign what he called a "financial agreement" that was,
in actuality, a postnuptial agreement.
Justine wrote:
"There were warning signs [...] Elon told me, 'I am the alpha in this relationship.'
I shrugged it off, just as I would later shrug off signing the postnuptial agreement, but
as time went on, I learned that he was serious."
A lengthy divorce followed, as Justine fought to regain the wealth she had effectively signed
away via the post-nup.
Speaking with CNBC, she explained that, when she signed the document:
"I trusted that he wouldn't do anything that would put me in harm's way."
In an article for Business Insider, Elon refuted his ex-wife's claims and said that he pays
her $20,000 a month for spending, outside of spousal support.
Elon Musk shelled out one of his characteristically pithy tweets in 2020 when he wrote:
"Pronouns suck."
His then-girlfriend, Grimes, called him out in an impassioned — and since deleted — tweet,
accusing him of spreading hate speech.
She urged Musk:
"I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a [c]all.
I cannot support hate.
Please stop this.
I know this isn't your heart."
Subsequently, some critics accused him of peddling overt transphobia and misogyny.
In a piece published at the time, The Observer pointed out that Grimes herself has made comments
identifying herself as more gender neutral and, quote, "female-ish."
The Observer piece continued:
"[The tweets] were transphobic, and in context seem like they were designed specifically
to target and humiliate his partner in a massive public forum."
Despite the backlash, Musk went on to make further disparaging remarks about pronouns
later that year, tweeting an image of a cartoon soldier rubbing blood on his face and wearing
a hat that reads "I love to oppress."
The caption read:
"when you put he/him in ur bio."
Subsequently, the energy publication Clean Technica critized the tweet, arguing that
Musk rallying against pronouns was a covert means of implying "that transgender people
don't deserve support," and that people who do support them deserve to be looked down
on.
In response, Musk tweeted that he does indeed support the transgender community, but also
argued that he deems pronouns, quote, "an aesthetic nightmare," a misguided stance that,
again, saw him face swift censure from critics.
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the lives of millions around the world, yet Elon Musk
has repeatedly downplayed its severity.
In the early days of the pandemic, he expressed skepticism about the deadly virus, claiming:
"Something extremely bogus is going on."
He also tweeted that the "pandemic is dumb" and propagated conspiracy theories that doctors
were wrongly attributing COVID-19 as patients' cause of death to get more government funding
— a conspiracy that has been thoroughly debunked by leading scientists.
During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Musk doubled down on his views, purporting
that the COVID-19 death rate was far lower than the World Health Organization was reporting.
"It's much, much less.
It’s like, probably at least an order of magnitude less."
He also dismissed deaths as being limited to those with "existing conditions."
The entrepreneur claimed that, quote, "people really wanted a panic."
He also embraced the notion that nationwide lockdowns were an infringement upon peoples'
civil liberties.
In an interview with The New York Times, Musk repeated this sentiment, rallying against
lockdowns and asserting that only clinically vulnerable people should quarantine, in his
words, "until the storm passes."
When he was told that such measures would lead to many avoidable deaths, he curtly replied:
"Everybody dies."
Musk has also espoused anti-vax sentiments, claiming that he would refuse to receive a
coronavirus vaccine.
However, he has since changed his stance and revealed that both he and his family are vaccinated.
In 2016, Elon Musk founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company focused on developing devices that
can connect to the human brain.
Much of Neuralink's work is based around helping people who have sustained head injuries by
implanting devices into the brain.
However, the firm's work hasn't always been seen as positive, as it has faced a slew of
animal abuse allegations.
In 2020, PETA launched a scathing attack on Musk for his use of pigs in experiments.
The organization tweeted:
"We challenge Elon Musk to behave like a pioneer and implant the Neuralink chip in his own
brain rather than exploiting smart, sensitive pigs."
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a complaint against the firm in 2022,
alleging that the macaque monkeys used in Neuralink research were subjected to "invasive
and deadly brain experiments," and that the animals had portions of their skulls removed
to implant electrodes in their brains.
Moreover, the group alleged that several monkeys were euthanized for the experiments.
The firm denied these accusations, though they did admit some monkeys were euthanized,
supposedly due to health issues or as part of an unrelated research study.
Grimes and Elon Musk might have been the weirdest celeb couple ever.
Ever since the pair first hooked up in 2018, they've been a seemingly endless controversy
magnet, from Grimes defending Musk's alleged union-busting to their uniquely named son.
In their characteristically bizarre fashion, the pair named their son, born in 2020, X
Æ A-Xii Explaining the unusual choice of moniker, Grimes tweeted, in part:
"A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft)."
Musk decided to correct the mother of his child, rather curtly replying:
"SR-71, but yes."
Grimes responded by adding:
"I am recovering from surgery and barely alive so may my typos b forgiven but, damnit.
That was meant to be profound."
It also seemed that the couple couldn't agree on a pronunciation for their son's name, with
Musk's articulation of X Æ A-Xii contradicting his then-partner's.
Following the couple's break up in 2021, Grimes went on to call out her ex in her song "Player
of Games," lamenting that gaming enthusiast Musk loved video games more than her.
The Guardian subsequently argued that Musk's immortalization in his ex's lyrics would no
doubt warn him against dating musicians in future.
It seems to be a trend for middle-aged celebs to come for so-called "woke" culture, particularly
when it supposedly infringes on free speech within the comedy landscape.
Elon Musk, who admittedly isn't known for his sense of humor, has also slammed the advent
of wokeness, claiming it is suppressing comedy.
In an interview with the satirical conservative outlet The Babylon Bee, he stated:
"Like, Wokeness basically wants to make comedy illegal.
Which is not cool."
Regarding controversial comments made by the comedian Dave Chappelle, he said:
"Trying to shut down Chappelle, come on, man, that's crazy."
"Wokeness is divisive, exclusionary, and hateful."
He also lamented the current state of comedy, which he claimed has been infected by a so-called
"woke-mind-virus."
Speaking about the brand of comedy that Musk claimed was being suppressed by the left,
the billionaire flexed his comedic muscles in a bizarre social media post in 2022.
In a since-deleted tweet, Musk posted a photo of Adolf Hitler with the caption:
"Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau.
I had a budget."
This was apparently a reference to Musk's support for the Canadian truckers protesting
against Prime Minister Trudeau's COVID-19 restrictions.
Jewish groups immediately condemned Musk's tweet, with The Anti-Defamation League arguing
that:
"False comparisons of public leaders to Hitler are hurtful and offensive and only serve to
trivialize the history of World War II and the Holocaust."
With a net worth of over $200 billion, you might be forgiven for thinking that paying
just a few billion dollars in taxes would be a drop in the ocean for Elon Musk.
Well, think again.
When Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed Musk for his supposed tax evasion, he retorted
that he would "pay over $11 billion in taxes" in 2021.
But as Representative Pramila Jayapal pointed out in an earlier tweet, Musk has been known
to make as much as $36 billion in a single day.
That year, Musk, who has repeatedly referred to himself as, quote, "cash poor," took aim
at a proposed "billionaire tax" — in which the wealthiest would pay extra income tax
to help fund social security programs and climate change policies.
He tweeted:
"Eventually, they run out of other people's money and then they come for you."
Taxes, or lack thereof, have been at the center of many Musk controversies over the years.
For example, it has been revealed by ProPublica that his tax bill for 2018 came to a grand
total of $0.
Indeed, Musk has been highly strategic in his wealth accumulation, opting to eschew
a traditional salary in favor of a compensation plan that includes stock options.
This is how Musk has sometimes gotten away with paying zero dollars in tax, a measly
$68,000 in 2015, and $65,000 in 2017.
Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders is famous for levying criticisms against the super rich.
When he criticized billionaires, tweeting that society should demand that they pay their
fair share, Elon Musk was having none of it, and resorted to arguably ageist tactics to
silence the left-wing politician.
In a response to the newly octogenarian Vermont senator, Musk tweeted:
"I keep forgetting that you're still alive."
Calling out what she perceived as bullying tactics, one activist replied:
"Folks, quit buying @Tesla.
Don't reward abusive men."
This would not be the last time Musk exhibited apparently ageist views.
Soon after the fiasco, he said that anyone over the age of 70 shouldn't be allowed to
run for office.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, he branded President Joe Biden "a damp [sock] puppet," rhetoric
that mirrored Donald Trump's infamous attacks on his presidential nemesis.
Even the traditionally right-wing Daily Mail targeted Musk for his overt displays of ageism.
The outlet argued:
"Is Biden fit for office?
That's not the point here.
The point is the amount of people worldwide who wouldn't be embarrassed at publicly agreeing
with Musk.
Woke as we are all meant to be, having a dig at someone because of their age is still perfectly
acceptable."
Of course, it's worth remembering that, at 50 years old, Musk is no spring chicken himself.
In 2020, Elon Musk made the bizarre decision to tweet that:
"Tesla stock price is too high imo."
The unprecedented move understandably raised more than a few eyebrows and ultimately led
to a crash in the share price, which tanked by 12% in a single day.
The following year, Musk posted a poll on Twitter in which he asked his followers whether
he should sell 10% of his Tesla shares to pay a tax bill.
When almost 58% of voters opted for "Yes," Tesla stock plummeted $140 billion in one
day, its biggest drop in a year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Musk has been accused of deliberately manipulating the market through
his social media posts.
As Vox pointed out, something very shady could be going on with Musk's tweets, since, as:
"A company's founder and CEO tweeting out meaningful information about the company arguably
moves the price more than most."
For instance, Musk has been accused of influencing the price of Dogecoin.
In addition to tweets promoting the cryptocurrency, he name-dropped it during his "Weekend Update"
guest slot on Saturday Night Live.
"And lately, prices have been soaring for cryptos like Bitcoin, Theorem, and especially
Dogecoin."
Following his stint on the show, the price of Dogecoin plummeted.
As The Washington Post argued:
"In a supposedly decentralized industry meant to be impervious to any single party's influence,
market prices seem to soar or plunge based on the force of one man's tweets."
Being the "Richest Man in the World," Elon Musk needn't worry about relying on social
security.
But for millions of Americans, it's a safety net to protect the most vulnerable in society.
Musk, however, seems to see social security entirely in terms of debt management.
In 2022, he tweeted:
"True national debt, including unfunded entitlements, is at least $60 trillion — roughly three
times the size of the entire US economy.
Something has got to give."
Many saw the comments as completely detached from the reality of ordinary working Americans.
The Intercept argued that Musk was, quote, "stupendously ignorant about the U.S. economy
and entitlement programs," noting that only "a tiny fraction" of government expenditure
goes to social security.
A year earlier, Musk told The Wall Street Journal's CEO Summit that all government funding
for electric car charging points should end.
What made these attacks on government assistance even more outrageous, critics argued, was
the fact that Musk himself has received numerous government subsidies for his businesses.
For instance, Business Insider highlighted that:
"The richest person in the world says he doesn't want any help from the US government, but
his companies have actually gotten billions of dollars worth."
Throughout the years, Musk has received various subsidies, including $2.89 billion from NASA,
$750 million from New York state, and even a portion of the $600 billion available for
businesses struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Among Elon Musk's innumerable grand ideas is the colonization of Mars.
According to Musk, who explained his dream to Inverse, he wants to colonize Mars, quote,
"just in case something goes wrong with Earth.
However, he has been heavily condemned for his plans.
In his own interview with Inverse, film director Werner Herzog branded Musk's plans "an obscenity,"
arguing that people should, quote, "not be like the locusts."
He went on to compare Musk's plan to fascist ideology, pondering why Musk was preoccupied
with the idea of humans inhabiting Mars as opposed to working towards saving planet Earth.
Others have called Musk's colonization plot "dangerous."
During a talk with fellow scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson, British chief astrophysicist Martin
Rees said:
"The idea of Elon Musk to have a million people settle on Mars is a dangerous delusion."
Tyson agreed, echoing Herzog's stance by emphasizing:
"It is so much easier to make Earth return to Earth again rather than terraforming Mars."
Musk himself has admitted that many potential Mars settlers will die on their journey to
the planet.
He once confessed:
"You might not come back alive.
But it's a glorious adventure."
A former Tesla executive once told Quartz:
"Everyone in Tesla is in an abusive relationship with Elon [Musk]."
Indeed, although Musk likes to wax lyrical about the superb conditions in which his Tesla
employees work, many of them would have a hard time agreeing with him.
In an exposé by The Guardian, it was revealed that many of his workers were seriously injured
while "working 12-hour shifts, six days a week."
As one employee put it:
"The main export is injuries, not cars."
Sexual harassment is also allegedly rife in the Tesla workplace.
Per Forbes, six female employees claimed they had been sexually harassed at Tesla, allegations
the company apparently ignored.
Meanwhile, Musk's other venture, SpaceX, has faced similar accusations.
In a blog post for Lioness, Ashley Kosak claimed she had been subjected to relentless sexual
harassment while working as a Mission Integration Engineer.
She wrote:
"I reported each incident of sexual harassment I experienced to HR, and nothing was done."
Additionally, accusations of flagrant workplace racism have been levied at Tesla.
Per The Los Angeles Times, Black workers at a factory in California frequently had racial
slurs hurled at them by fellow employees, managers, and supervisors.
According to the outlet, Black employees were segregated and "had to scrub floors on their
hands and knees."
These same employees were relegated to the factory's most difficult physical jobs.
"They decided not to follow through, they decided to kill investigations.
You know, you can't keep treating workers like this."
Tesla responded to the claims, arguing that they "always disciplined and terminated" those
who engaged in racist abuse.
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