Elon Musk, the renowned owner of Tesla and social-media platform X, has been unexpectedly removed as a speaker for the upcoming 2023 APEC CEO Summit in San Francisco. The decision to remove Musk’s name from the agenda came shortly after he expressed support for a controversial claim regarding Jewish communities.
Initially, Musk was scheduled to co-host a session with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff titled “A Conversation on AI and the Future.” However, as of Thursday morning, his name has been replaced by John Kerry, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, on the organization’s website.
The change was prompted by a statement made by a user named “The Artist Formerly Known as Eric” on X, where he pointed out that Jewish communities themselves are perpetuating a form of hatred against whites. In response, Musk openly endorsed the claim by stating, “You have said the actual truth.”
Neither Musk’s Tesla nor the APEC CEO Summit has provided any comments yet regarding this unexpected alteration to the event’s schedule.
Despite the controversy surrounding him, Musk continues to engage on social media. He recently shared pictures from San Francisco and voiced his opinion on X about the term decolonization. According to him, the concept implies a Jewish genocide, rendering it unacceptable to any rational individual.
Musk Criticized for Anti-Semitic Remarks
In a recent post on X, Elon Musk made controversial comments about the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), claiming that they unjustly attack the majority of the West. While Musk acknowledged that not all Jewish communities hold such views, he accused the ADL of failing to criticize the minority groups that pose a primary threat.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt responded to Musk’s remarks, expressing concern about the validation and promotion of anti-Semitic theories. Greenblatt directly referenced one of Musk’s tweets and highlighted the danger of such actions in a time of increasing anti-Semitism worldwide.
The tensions between Musk and the ADL stem from a report released by the organization, which indicated a surge in anti-Semitic hate speech on X following Musk’s involvement. In response, Musk threatened to sue the ADL for defamation, asserting that their reports have discouraged companies from advertising on the platform.
As news of Musk’s remarks circulated, Tesla stock experienced a 2.7% drop in early afternoon trading on Thursday. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 had a 0.4% decrease, and the Nasdaq Composite remained flat.
Despite this setback, Tesla stock had been on a four-day winning streak leading up to Thursday’s trading. During this streak, shares rose approximately $33, or 16%, from around $210 to $243 apiece.