For Every Time Elon Musk Has Been Controversial, This Moment Stands Above The Rest
"If there's ever a scandal about me, *please* call it Elongate," tweeted billionaire Elon Musk in March. Those unfamiliar with the Tesla CEO would probably brush it off as a harmless joke, but people in the know might find the statement ironic, considering how Musk had been embroiled in multiple controversies in the past. It also doesn't look like he plans to lay low anytime soon.
For starters, the name of his child with ex-girlfriend Grimes has been a source of much controversy. They gave their son the name "X Æ A-12," which is apparently an amalgamation of the couple's love for artificial intelligence, their favorite aircraft, their favorite song, and X, an unknown variable, per Grimes' own explanation. They later had to change it to "X Æ A-Xii" to follow California law.
But this controversy is just the tip of the iceberg, as Musk has repeatedly found himself in the middle of a media ruckus. He once smoked marijuana on the "Joe Rogan Experience," causing NASA to put SpaceX under review, per AP News. Musk also shot himself in the metaphorical foot when he tweeted his thoughts about his company's stock prices. "Tesla stock price is too high imo," he wrote, resulting in a swift dip in Tesla's valuation, per CNN. Of course, Musk will likely continue to find himself in the midst of controversies, but there was one particular statement that caused even some of his most loyal fans to second guess the second richest man in the world.
Elon Musk had a lot to say about the COVID-19 vaccine and tests
To many, Elon Musk is, first and foremost, a science man. He owns a company that hopes to revolutionize space, after all. That's precisely why people found it baffling when he seemed to have skewed thoughts about the virus wreaking havoc to the world. "The coronavirus panic is dumb," he tweeted in March 2020, when COVID-19-induced mass hysteria caused people to retreat into their homes. He also described the lockdowns as "forcible imprisoning" and "fascist" during a Tesla earnings call, per Business Insider.
With regard to COVID testing, he said in November 2020 that the process was "extremely bogus," after taking multiple tests and receiving varying results. Twitter users then had to educate him about how these tests work, while simultaneously branding him "Space Karen."
But it doesn't end there! Musk also used to be a vocal skeptic of the COVID-19 vaccine. On an episode of The New York Times' "Sway," he declared that he won't get his family vaccinated should vaccines become publicly available. "I'm not at risk for Covid, nor are my kids," he said at the time, via CNN. While he backtracked his statements and said that, "to be clear, I do support vaccines in general and Covid vaccines specifically" on Twitter, it's not a reach to think that he caused some people to steer clear of getting the vaccine with his initial declarations.
Elon Musk admits he tends to 'dig my own grave'
There is a long list of controversies of which Elon Musk has been a part. Whether the cause for them had been his own doing or not, the Tesla founder and CEO is aware that, at this point, he's a mainstay in the headlines. In fact, when someone once tweeted that Musk may find it virtually impossible to dodge scandals, he said that he has a tendency of stirring up trouble no matter what he does.
"[T]o be fair, I dig my own grave a lot," he admitted, along with two crying laughing emojis. His tweet was in response to a post where the user shared a clip from "Super Mario," where Mario tries to get past a series of obstacles to win. "How hard it is for Elon Musk to avoid controversies," the caption read.
Musk is clearly not afraid to speak his mind, so we'll likely see him in the middle of a few more controversies in the future. That is, unless Twitter decides to deplatform him and give him the Donald Trump treatment. We guess we will just have to wait and see.