Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), recently spoke about his concerns for the future of the platform if Kamala Harris wins the election. Musk, who bought X with a vision of safeguarding free speech, voiced his belief that a Harris presidency might use government power to restrict platforms like X, possibly even shutting it down.
“If you didn’t do it, no one would have,” Rogan said. “And here’s the hilarious narrative that I keep hearing from idiots. ‘Elon’s a bad businessman. Twitter is worth, you know, 400% less than when he bought it.’ No, it wasn’t worth that in the first place. It wasn’t worth $44 billion, you f—ing morons. Wrong. And also, you’re not taking into account the advertiser boycott. That’s total bulls—.”
In a recent conversation with podcaster Joe Rogan, Musk explained that he sees a risk to free expression if Harris comes into power. Musk highlighted that his ownership of X is part of his effort to maintain open conversation online, but he fears that this might be challenged by a Harris administration.
Musk also pointed to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), calling it a “scam organization” that encourages advertisers to pull back from X. He compared it to a “Ministry of Truth,” suggesting that CCDH promotes censorship under the guise of countering hate. Last year, Musk’s company, X Corp, sued CCDH, claiming the group exaggerated reports of harmful content on the platform to damage its reputation and drive away advertisers.
Musk noted that, while some of the pressure from advertiser boycotts has eased, he believes this election represents a key moment in the broader conflict between government control and the freedom to speak freely. According to Musk, if Kamala Harris wins, there could be significant shifts in how speech is regulated online.
“I think if Trump wins, we’ll see, you know, probably most of the boycott will lift,” he said. “But if Kamala wins, we’ll see that boycott gets stronger and they’ll friggin’ shut [it] down. There’s no way that a Kamala puppet regime would allow X to exist.”
“You really think that they’ll be able to shut it down, though? Is there a pathway to that?” the podcast host asked, later inquiring, “What would they do?”
Additionally, Musk’s company SpaceX is in the midst of a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which alleges that SpaceX discriminated against asylum seekers and refugees in hiring. This case is on hold for now, but it highlights some of the legal and regulatory challenges Musk’s companies are facing.
“They can sic the DOJ [Department of Justice] on you know, and say like, you know, they’ve got this whole thing about like hate speech, misinformation or whatever, except that they’re the ones pushing the misinformation. But that doesn’t stop them from filing massive, you know, lawsuits and using the DOJ,” he said.
For Musk, the upcoming election is about more than just political leadership—it could be a turning point for digital freedom. He suggests that a Harris presidency could bring about more regulations that might challenge the way platforms like X operate, impacting the future of open discussion on the internet.
