Elon Musk calls US media and schools 'racist against whites & Asians'

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter, has accused "the media," and "elite colleges and precocious schools" of being "racist" against achromatic and Asian people, espousing his views without providing grounds connected Sunday.

Musk posted his comments connected Twitter, wherever helium boasts astir 130 cardinal followers, successful effect to quality that media organizations astir the state decided to chopped the comic portion "Dilbert" from syndication aft its creator, Scott Adams, delivered a racist tirade successful a video connected his YouTube transmission past week.

In the video, Adams discussed a canvass conducted by right-leaning Rasmussen Reports that said 26% of Black respondents disagreed with the connection "It's OK to beryllium white." The operation referenced successful their canvass has been labeled a "hate slogan" by the Anti-Defamation League. In his video, Adams called Black radical who rejected that operation arsenic a "hate group."

Adams besides said that helium personally chose to unrecorded successful a assemblage wherever fewer oregon nary Black radical lived, and past advised his achromatic viewers to "get the hellhole distant from Black people," saying helium didn't "want to person thing to bash with them."

Adams' video was published during Black History period successful the US, which was established successful 1976 by President Gerald Ford arsenic a play during which to grant the struggles and contributions of Black Americans.

Among the quality outlets that dropped "Dilbert" were The Los Angeles Times, The Oregonian, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Washington Post and USA Today.

Brian Levin, a civilian rights lawyer and manager of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism astatine California State University said, successful effect to Musk's tweets:

"Systemic racism requires not lone wide bigotry to beryllium held wrong a radical but besides a structural constituent that allows favoritism and oppression to beryllium imposed connected a number due to the fact that of an vantage of entree and power. A achromatic billionaire from South Africa who precocious mislaid a precocious illustration radical favoritism lawsuit whitethorn not beryllium successful the champion presumption to connection counsel."

As CNBC antecedently reported, a San Francisco national tribunal ruled that Tesla indispensable wage a erstwhile worker, Owen Diaz, for damages aft helium endured a hostile enactment situation and racist abuse astatine the company's mill wherever helium antecedently worked arsenic an elevator operator.

Additionally, the EEOC, a national bureau liable for enforcing civilian rights laws against workplace discrimination, has issued a origin uncovering against Tesla according to a financial filing from the institution past year.

Prior to the EEOC finding, the California Civil Rights Department (formerly known arsenic the Department of Fair Employment and Housing) sued Tesla aft a 3 twelvemonth investigation, alleging wide racist favoritism astatine Tesla factories and facilities crossed the state.

The CRD alleged that Tesla has kept Black workers successful lower-level roles astatine the institution adjacent erstwhile they person the skills and acquisition to beryllium promoted to much elder roles; assigned Black workers much demanding, unsafe and soiled enactment successful their facilities; and retaliated against Black workers who complained formally astir what they endured, including racist slurs utilized by managers.

Tesla called the CRD's suit "misguided," and aboriginal counter-sued the agency.

Musk made his claims astir "the media" and immoderate higher acquisition institutions and precocious schools successful the US without presenting immoderate evidence.

Specifically, helium wrote, "The media is racist." He past added, "For a *very* agelong time, US media was racist against non-white people, present they're racist against whites & Asians. Same happening happened with elite colleges & precocious schools successful America. Maybe they tin effort not being racist." 

According to Pew Research, newsroom employees are overmuch much apt to beryllium achromatic (and male) than U.S. workers overall. In movie and TV, according to McKinsey research, "Black endowment is underrepresented crossed the industry, peculiarly off-screen." Less than 6% of the writers, directors, and producers of US-produced films are Black, McKinsey found.

According to the astir caller disposable US Census Bureau data, astir 29% of non-Hispanic achromatic radical successful the US person attained a bachelor's grade oregon higher levels of education, astir 18.4% of Black radical successful the US person attained that level of education, and astir 51.3% of Asian radical person attained that level of education.

Despite Asian American acquisition attainment, Asians are underrepresented successful enactment roles successful U.S. world libraries and higher education, according to probe by Mihoko Hosoi, published successful the Journal of Library Administration successful 2022.

Musk besides replied to 1 Twitter relationship that said unarmed achromatic radical impacted by constabulary unit lone get a fraction of the media attraction paid to Black radical injured oregon killed by police. Musk claimed that the media sum is "Very disproportionate to beforehand a mendacious narrative."

According to probe by Brookings Institute, "Black radical are 3.5 times much apt than achromatic radical to beryllium killed by constabulary erstwhile Blacks are not attacking oregon bash not person a weapon," and "Black teenagers are 21 times much apt than achromatic teenagers to beryllium killed by police."

Imran Ahmed, the CEO and laminitis of the Center for Countering Digital Hate said successful effect to Musk's tweets, "Elon Musk seeks to represent himself arsenic immoderate weird, bizarro champion of anti-racism whereas successful world erstwhile helium took implicit Twitter, helium made a bid of disturbing decisions to alteration its rules to invited racist hatred backmost onto the level and, arsenic our probe has shown, to nett from the contention and attraction hatred generates."

Ahmed besides called connected remaining advertisers to re-evaluate whether they privation to walk their budgets connected Twitter, fixed Musk's beliefs and changes helium has made to the Twitter platform.

Since starring a $44 cardinal leveraged buyout of Twitter precocious past year, and appointing himself "Chief Twit" oregon CEO, Musk has stirred contention and mislaid wealth astatine the societal media business.

Under Musk's watch, Twitter has restored the accounts of immoderate antecedently banned and divisive figures, including neo-Nazi website laminitis Andrew Anglin. His moves led to an unprecedented rise successful hatred speech connected the platform, the Center found, and drew an contiguous outcry from civil rights leaders.

Hundreds of Twitter's apical advertisers person since halted oregon pulled backmost connected advertisement spending there. One steadfast estimated that Twitter's advertisement gross declined arsenic overmuch arsenic 70% successful December from the erstwhile year, Reuters reported. Musk acknowledged successful a November tweet that the company suffered a "massive driblet successful revenue" after advertisers paused spending connected the societal media platform.

Musk and representatives astatine Twitter, SpaceX, and Tesla did not instantly respond to requests for comment.