Feud Between Elon Musk And Scottish Politician Humza Yousaf Escalates As Accusations Fly Of Racism And 'Dangerous' Behavior

 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the US Capitol on July 24, 2024.

An ongoing rivalry between Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and the owner of the social media platform X, and Scottish politician Humza Yousaf has continued to escalate in recent days as the former claimed Yousaf is a "racist" and a "scumbag," while the latter accused Musk of bring “one of the most dangerous men on the planet" who uses his wealth for “wicked evil.”

On Monday, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney defended his predecessor in a statement to BBC Scotland, calling Musk's behavior "wholly unacceptable.”

Key Background

The speech that launched Yousaf's feud with Musk was given to the Scottish Parliament on June 10, 2020 but wasn’t scrutinized online until 2023. The speech went viral last year after clips taken out of context were posted that suggested Yousaf said there were too many white people in Scotland, sparking outrage in the country and abroad that the politician—the first Muslim ever elected to the Scottish Parliament—was anti-white. A fact check later done by Reuters, however, confirmed that the viral clips had been taken out of context, and they were part of a "wider discussion about racial injustice and the lack of people of color in positions of power in the Scottish Parliament and Government." Musk's initial response to the speech was posted as a reply to one of those 45-second clips posted to X that took the statements out of context.

Tangent

Yousaf isn’t the only foreign politician Musk has engaged with about international issues on X. Most recently, he’s caught the attention of British leaders for his criticism of police response to riots sparked by the fatal triple-stabbing of three children in Southport, England. The stabbings launched a series of far-right and counter protests that have seen hundreds arrested, and Musk has accused U.K. police of overly policing white protestors, posting that “civil war is inevitable” in Britain, labeling the prime minister as “two-tier Keir” and calling director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson “The Woke Stasi.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there is "no justification" for Musk's claims. Last month, Musk repeatedly criticized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's handling of his country's election—calling the president a "dictator" and accusing his government of "major election fraud." Maduro then reportedly challenged Musk to a physical fight on national television in Venezuela, and Musk responded with a tweet saying "I accept." Last year, Musk accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of "crushing free speech" after the country passed a law requiring online streaming services be subject to regulatory controls, and he slammed Germany for its handling of migrants.