In conventional business circumstances, another CEO likely would have faced termination following Elon Musk's recent remarks.
Tweeting a Holocaust joke could easily result in your account being suspended. Mocking marginalized communities is normally a no-no as well.
However, these rules don't seem to apply to the wealthiest individual on the planet, who runs companies filled with cronies.
Recently, Elon Musk brought up two infamous German Nazis in a tweet, all while criticizing modern pronoun usage. He attempted, as usual, to make a humorous point (though I won't repeat the material here, as it's just not funny).
For context, Musk was reacting to a Der Spiegel article that compared him to a media figure who helped propel Hitler to power.
This isn't Musk's first, nor his most scandalous, comment involving the Third Reich or its white supremacist heirs. Just last month, Musk promoted Tucker Carlson's widely criticized interview with a Nazi sympathizer, who claimed the Holocaust was "humane" and that Winston Churchill was the main villain of World War II. Musk later deleted his post that praised the interview as "interesting" and "worth watching," according to the Independent.
Representatives for Tesla and X didn't respond to CNN's request for comment.
Musk rarely deletes his controversial posts, regardless of how incendiary they are. He's yet to eliminate a post where he shared the "interesting observation" that only "alpha males" should make policy decisions, and that women lack the capacity for independent thought.
Musk once apologized for his post promoting an antisemitic conspiracy theory, which led to many advertisers leaving X. However, he never deleted this post either.
Typically, any CEO of a major corporation would be fired for advocating such views. This was the case until 2018, when more CEOs were dismissed for ethical lapses than financial mismanagement, according to a PwC report.
But why does Musk seem immune to this?
Part of the reason is how Musk has structured his wealth and companies. Musk holds the largest individual stake at Tesla, the only publicly-traded company he owns. His brother, Kimbal Musk, who sits on the board, holds the second-largest stake. In fact, the entire Tesla board is filled with Musk allies who lack sufficient independence, according to a Delaware judge who nullified Musk's $55 billion pay package in 2023.
In other words, the individuals with a vested interest in keeping Musk in check are, in Judge Kathaleen McCormick's words, not exactly unbiased parties.
Even Tesla's most ardent supporters are growing anxious about Musk's online rhetoric and his "dark MAGA" transformation, which could potentially lead to awkward moments during the earnings call.
Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, said: "The Musk/Trump dynamic has increased the unease among Tesla investors and it isn't beneficial for the Tesla brand."
Besides Tesla, Musk's main source of wealth comes from SpaceX, a rocket manufacturer that NASA has tasked with resupplying the International Space Station.
In SpaceX, there are no public shareholders to worry about, as the company is private and essentially has no competition in the market. (Slightly, it competes with Boeing for space contracts, but given Boeing's recent troubles, SpaceX has little to fear.)
When it comes to challenges, Musk relies on legal action. After advertisers abandoned his Nazi-tolerating social media site, Musk sued an ad group into oblivion. Since July 2023, Musk and his companies have filed at least 23 lawsuits in federal courts, targeting competitors, startups, law firms, watchdog groups, individuals, California, federal agencies, and Grimes, Musk's child's mother.
In conclusion, when you're nearly unlimited in financial resources, you wield almost unlimited power to play offense – in courts, in the boardroom, or on social media.
Despite the strict rules against mocking marginalized communities and the potential consequences, such as account suspension, leading business figures like Elon Musk have managed to navigate these issues differently due to their influence and wealth. For instance, Musk has repeatedly made controversial comments involving the Third Reich and its white supremacist heirs, without facing significant repercussions from his businesses, Tesla and SpaceX.
