SpaceX founder Elon Musk encouraged "more positive, beautiful or informative content" on his X platform (formerly Twitter) hours after he lashed out at an individual and told them to go "F**K YOURSELF in the face."
Musk's inflammatory remarks were in response to growing tensions between him and anti-immigration conservatives who disparaged him for his support of H-1B visas that allow U.S. employers to hire foreign employees for specialty occupations, which require specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree.
On December 27, the South African native, who held an H-1B visa, wrote on X:
"Anyone – of any race, creed or nationality – who came to America and worked like hell to contribute to this country will forever have my respect."
"America is the land of freedom and opportunity. Fight with every fiber of your being to keep it that way!"
Musk, who will be co-chairing the Department of Government Efficiency—or DOGE—with Vivek Ramaswamy, later followed up with another post, writing:
"America rose to greatness over the past 150 years, because it was a meritocracy more than anywhere else on Earth."
"I will fight to my last drop of blood to ensure that it remains that land of freedom and opportunity."
After facing mounting criticism from MAGA critics who continued speaking out against his stance on labor and immigration, Musk fired back with this retaliatory strike.
“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B."
“Take a big step back and F*** YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
@elonmusk/X
A day and a half later, Musk pivoted to a more peaceful tone, writing:
"Please post a bit more positive, beautiful or informative content on this platform."
Users called him out for his glaring hypocrisy of being positive.
@CassandraRules/X
More comments followed on Bluesky.
"Please be informative" said the #1 poster of misinformation on the website said poster of misinformation purchased and subsequently turned into a misinformation factory
— MrSpiffy (@mrspiffy123.bsky.social) December 29, 2024 at 8:47 PM
Musk is like a gardner that pulled all the flowers out of the garden and then complains that his garden has no color.
— Xecryo (@xecryo.bsky.social) December 30, 2024 at 3:28 PM
When you poison the well, you don't get to complain about the water quality.
— darkexarch.bsky.social (@darkexarch.bsky.social) December 30, 2024 at 3:09 PM
And now complaining about it and he was asking for it
— arytomd2.bsky.social (@arytomd2.bsky.social) December 30, 2024 at 8:24 AM
Yeah, good luck with that, Elon.
MAGA critics learned the hard way about not abiding by Musk's so-called quest for more "positive" interactions on X.
Those who spoke negatively about him were censored on the platform.
On December 26, 2024, supporters of President-elect Donald Trump who slammed Musk's support of the H-1B visa found their X accounts were demonetized and stripped of their verification badges.