Elon Musk says “unhappy” days are on the horizon if America allows the tech industry to serve as its “de facto arbiter of free speech.”
The billionaire entrepreneur behind Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Tesla Inc. weighed in on Silicon Valley again this week with a First Amendment warning for the nation.
“A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech,” Mr. Musk tweeted Monday in response to a satirical piece by the Babylon Bee titled “Evil Fascist Dictator Censored And Voted Out Of Office.”
The comments by Tesla Inc.’s chief executive officer come in the wake of bans on President Trump by various social media giants.
Similarly, Facebook and Twitter have cracked down on accounts belonging to Mr. Trump’s supporters after the U.S. Capitol was breached Jan. 6.
Mr. Musk has consistently called for Americans to be wary of power wielded by Big Tech.
In April, for instance, he referred to Silicon Valley as “Sanctimonious Valley” for its pro-lockdown stance on the coronavirus pandemic.
“Silicon Valley has become Sanctimonious Valley,” he tweeted. “Too much the moral arbiter of the world.”
“FREE AMERICA NOW” and “Give people their freedom back!” he also tweeted while sharing articles on COVID-19.
A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 11, 2021
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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