Democracy Dies in Darkness

Elon Musk, once a tacit backer of DEI, now focuses on anti-White bias

Elon Musk, who was raised during South African apartheid, used to steer clear of debate about race. Now, he frequently advocates for White people.

March 20, 2025

22 min

Elon Musk speaks to reporters in the White House Oval Office in February. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Beth Reinhard

Faiz Siddiqui

and

Clara Ence Morse

In the spring of 2017, two months after a Black employee sued Tesla and alleged that co-workers frequently called him the n-word with impunity, chief executive Elon Musk sent out a companywide email with the subject line “Doing the right thing.”

The note marked one of the first times that the billionaire tech icon, born and raised in privilege during South African apartheid, engaged in a public conversation about race. Avoid making offensive comments, Musk said — but don’t be overly sensitive.

What readers are saying

The comments overwhelmingly criticize Elon Musk's stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, often associating him with white supremacy and racism. Many commenters draw parallels between Musk's actions and ideologies with those of Nazis, expressing disdain for... Show more

This summary is AI-generated. AI can make mistakes and this summary is not a replacement for reading the comments.

By Beth Reinhard

Beth Reinhard has been a reporter at The Washington Post since 2017. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, National Journal, The Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post. @bethreinhard

By Faiz Siddiqui

Faiz Siddiqui is a technology reporter with The Washington Post's Business Desk covering companies such as Tesla and Twitter. His area of coverage has also included ride-hailing and the race to build autonomous cars. Prior to that, he covered the D.C. Metro and local transportation scene.@faizsays

By Clara Ence Morse

Clara Ence Morse is a political data reporter at The Washington Post. She joined The Post as the Investigative Reporting Workshop intern with the Data team, and previously served as the editor in chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator. She lives in Washington, D.C.ccemorse

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