In the latest chronicles of Big Tech’s most contentious tycoon — Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, founder of SpaceX and self-described “free speech absolutist” — the illusion of a populist hero is flickering. Earlier this month, several workers at SpaceX were fired after issuing a letter criticizing Musk for his online antics, labeling him a frequent source of “distraction and embarrassment” and alluding to reports last month of sexual assault allegations.
It’s an odd move considering Musk’s repeated statements in favor of free speech. In a recent talk with Twitter employees, Musk reiterated his stance on free speech, saying that “we should allow people to say what they want.” Musk has long capitalized on his “absolutist” position to fuel contrarian expressions, from sharing a Hitler meme to tweeting that “pronouns suck.” His antics suggest a kind of populist heroism, as if he works for the benefit of the masses. Earlier this year, Musk said calling billionaires bad people is “dumb” because they create products that make “millions of people happy.”
But while Musk often portrays himself as a maligned man of the people, his record reveals that he’s hardly a populist ally. In 2019, Musk broke California labor laws in a bid to prevent Tesla factory workers from forming a union. That’s not to mention the company’s omission of hundreds of worker injuries from its workplace reports. Musk also paid nothing in federal income taxes in 2018, though he has received $4.9 billion in many forms of government support to shore up his companies.
