American Writer Calls Elon Musk Illiterate and Uncultured
According to the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), quoting Indie, a new dispute has erupted on social media between the controversial billionaire, Elon Musk, and the renowned American writer, Joyce Carol Oates. In response to Musk’s statements about politicians and wealth, Oates described him as “uncultured and uninterested in life’s beauties”; however, Musk immediately responded sharply, calling Oates “a liar and lazy.”
The incident began when Elon Musk vehemently attacked Texas Democratic Senator Roland Gutierrez on the X platform (formerly Twitter). Gutierrez had previously criticized Tesla’s one-trillion-dollar bonus package for Musk; a bonus that would be paid to him if the company’s financial goals were met.
Musk responded by writing: “You are a taker, not a maker. All your life you have only taken from the world’s makers. Your zero-sum mindset is the root of much evil. When you understand that civilization is not zero-sum and aims to build far more than it consumes, the path to prosperity for all becomes clear: let the makers make.”
He further added about his Tesla bonus: “The reality is that nothing has been given to me. If I make Tesla the most valuable company in the world and maintain that position for five years, shareholders have voted that 12% of what has been made will belong to me. If Tesla only grows to two trillion dollars, I get nothing. This is an excellent agreement for shareholders, which is why they voted for it with a significant majority.”
Shortly after, a post of these remarks circulated on social media, and Joyce Carol Oates, a prominent American writer and winner of numerous literary awards, responded by writing: “It’s amazing that such a wealthy man never publishes anything that shows he is aware of things almost all humans enjoy: natural landscapes, pets, movies, music, books (though he is unlikely to read), pride in others’ achievements, or even expressing sympathy for the deceased. He truly seems completely illiterate and uncultured. Perhaps the poorest individuals on social media have more access to beauty and meaning in life than the richest man in the world.”
This comment quickly reached Musk, and he responded bluntly: “Everything Oates wrote about me in her post can be proven false with a simple search. Oates is a lazy liar… and an abuser of the semicolon, of course!”
With this sharp response, a new controversy erupted in the virtual space, and social media users were divided between defending Musk and supporting Oates. It is still unclear whether Joyce Carol Oates will respond to Musk’s verbal attack, but it seems this literary and digital dispute will not have an early end.
