Remember when the right used to call the left “snowflakes?” Well, that must’ve been before Elon Musk came into the picture.
It didn’t take long for the world’s richest man to get back to his hateful roots after calling for “positivity.”
In response to a post on X on Sunday from a student who accused the billionaire of “the largest spreader of disinformation in human history” and “hijacking political debates,” Musk’s reaction was predictably offensive.
Instead of a nuanced reply or a diplomatic counterpoint—or even just ignoring the post altogether—Musk hit back with a hostile, derogatory comment: “F u retard.”
F u retard— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 6, 2025
This comes just a week after Musk called for “more positive, beautiful, or informative content on this platform” in a post on X, making his latest comment feel like a jarring about-face because someone hurt his feelings.
The contrast was stark.
One moment, Musk was urging for civility, and the next, he was lobbing insults that most would consider both offensive and unbecoming of someone in his position. But, as we’ve learned, nothing is too low for the cult of MAGA.
Amid Musk’s feud over the H-1B visa program with far-right nationalists like Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon, Musk found himself in hot water after deleting a post on X in which he seemed to endorse a user’s comment claiming that Americans are too “retarded” to be considered for highly skilled tech jobs.
The comment was widely denounced for its ableism, and Musk’s decision to delete the post didn’t stop the backlash, which only seemed to fuel more criticism of his approach to these sensitive issues.
The man who has requested that people treat him with more positivity seems to have little problem reverting to name-calling and inflammatory remarks when his mood suits him.
As Musk’s influence as Donald Trump’s co-president continues to grow, his tendency to provoke and alienate seems to as well.
Musk’s recent actions suggest that “positivity” is a somewhat shallow concept—one that can be discarded when the target is on his back, or when his offender is easy enough to attack.
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