'Free speech absolutist’ Elon Musk says Trump administration will ‘go after’ people ‘pushing lies’ about Tesla

Yet again, Doge boss and Twitter/X owner Elon Musk has contradicted himself when it comes to ‘free speech absolutism’, as he told Fox News journalist Bret Baier on Thursday that the Trump administration would be ‘going after’ those “pushing the lies and propaganda” about Tesla.

Musk’s comments come as his electric car brand continues to be the target of violence and protests as a result of his association with US president Donald Trump and his work at the Department of Government Efficiency.

A bomb squad was called to a Tesla dealership in Texas on Monday following the discovery of “suspicious” and “incendiary” devices, and a worldwide protest targeting 500 showrooms is reportedly planned for Saturday, 29 March.

Musk has previously said people “basically want to kill me” and “hurt Tesla” because he is “stopping their fraud” and Doge is “stopping this terrible waste and corruption in the government”.

Now, in an interview with Baier, the tech billionaire claimed people are “being fed propaganda by the far-left, and they believe it”.

He continued: “The real problem is not… it’s not like the crazy guy that fire bombs a Tesla dealership, it’s the people pushing propaganda that caused that guy to do it.

“Those are the real villains here, and we’re going to go after them, and the president’s made it clear, we’re going to go after them. The ones providing the money, the ones pushing the lies and the propaganda, we’re going after them.”

And these comments have since seen Twitter/X users call Musk’s commitment to ‘free speech absolutism’ into question:

One account wondered if holding up a sign in front of a Tesla dealership will now see them arrested:

Former MSNBC journalist Mehdi Hasan pointed out that “whether you like it or not, the first amendment covers both lies and propaganda”:

Other viewers noted the two-finger gesture made by Musk when he talked about going after people:

Musk’s remarks on Tesla attacks formed part of a much wider interview with Baier, which also saw him tell grandmothers not to worry about Social Security and called those complaining about Doge “fraudsters”.

Yikes.

Why not read…

• Elon Musk wades into vaccine debate with ‘dangerous misinformation’
• Assassin’s Creed may have new customers thanks to epic takedown of Elon Musk

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.