British-Indian author Salman Rushdie expressed his discontent and dislike for billionaire Elon Musk while attending Hay Festival in Cartagena, Colombia. He said that he is not a fan of Elon Musk and would love the billionaire to be the first man on Mars.
Salman Rushdie, 77, made the remarks while talking to El Pais at the Hay festival. When asked about freedom of speech and whether he thinks Elon Musk defends it by allowing all kinds of speeches on his social media platform X, the writer said what the Tesla chief does is the opposite.
‘I really want him to leave’
He also said that Elon Musk’s X curates “the discourse of the extreme-right”.
“Elon Musk doesn’t defend free expression. His social network curates the discourse of the extreme-right. Appropriating a noble cause — such as freedom of expression — when what you really do is the opposite is very dishonest. I’m not a fan of Mr. Musk. And I would love for him to be the first man on Mars,” Rushdie said.
When followed-up by the interviewer by saying, “So that he stays there…”, Rushdie replied in affirmative, saying that he really wants him to leave. He also recalled meeting Elon Musk a decade back.
“Yes, let him go. If he likes it so much, then let him go. I once met him, in Los Angeles, 10 years ago. And he said that it would take seven years to get to Mars. Seven years have already passed, and I really want him to leave,” Rushdie said.
The conversation also touched upon the significant anti-immigration narrative blowing up in the west. The interviewer asked Rushdie – who is of Indian-origin but immigrated to the UK and then the US – why he thinks “cultural values like tolerance or empathy have lost so much support.”
Rushdie replied that these values are weaker now than ever in his lifetime. Emphasizing that he is a double migrant, from India to England, from England to the United States, Rushdie said that he has “always tried to celebrate the more positive side of that” and that “all that migration feeds culture.”
He also said that everyone in the US, except for native Americans, is a migrant and that “we live in an era of migration,” reminding Elon Musk that he too is from South Africa.
“Isn’t the United States a nation of immigrants? Apart from Native Americans, everyone is a migrant. That’s been the case since the founding fathers. The great American myth is now said to be bad, evil. Even Elon Musk is from South Africa,” said Rushdie.
Salman Rushdie’s remarks come amid the newly elected Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration in the US, something Elon Musk is supporting the US president with.
Salman Rushdie survived a stabbing attack in August 2022 and recently appeared for a hearing of the ongoing trial. During the hearing that took place on February 11, Rushdie removed his glasses to show his blind right eye.
