‘Definition of hypocrisy’: Elon Musk’s resurfaced Tweet is painfully hypocritical

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Now, Elon Musk has never qualified as a “hero,” but he certainly has lived long enough to become a hypocrite. Musk’s current quest for power has grown larger even than he could have imagined.

The world of commerce has perhaps become banal for Musk, who made his fortune in tech starting with Zip2 in 1999. Since then, Musk’s acquisitions have grown exponentially thanks to early investing in companies such as Tesla as well as founding programs such as SpaceX. Musk now holds an inordinate amount of power across the world of tech as well as social media, having acquired X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022 for $44 billion. Now, as the richest man in the world and the business world conquered, Musk has turned his attention to the world of politics. And we really wish he hadn’t.

In the most recent presidential election, Musk became a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, campaigning on his behalf across the country and online. He flooded X with posts on a near-hourly basis, the size of his reach dwarfing that of any other politician alive, even Trump. His reward for his efforts, a position on Trump’s right-hand side and political power coupled with an online presence unparalleled by anyone, even Taylor Swift. It’s a heady and dangerous combination. The irony hits when you look at a post he wrote two years ago, one that has since resurfaced.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Musk

For the last decade, Musk has been taking his success as a signal that he can go further. Now “further” appears to be control over the political decisions of not only the United States but the world. With his huge online following, Musk is able to influence the outcome of major decisions. We saw it in the election, and we are seeing it in global politics as well.

Musk has recently sparked controversy over his endorsement of the German political group AfD, a far-right-leaning group that has gained ground in the country. He wrote on X on Friday, “Only the AfD can save Germany.” We all know how well things go when far-right groups gain ground in Germany. It’s this form of rhetoric that takes the stakes to a whole new level. It implies that Germany needs saving from someone, or some group, with Musk having taken a rather anti-immigrant stance in the last year. Ironic for a man who lives in the States as an immigrant and whose legal immigration status in the past has been brought into question.

For someone who decried the accumulation of power by the unworthy, he certainly has accumulated a lot of power, and we should all be scared as to how he uses it.