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His supporters think 'the left' is out to get him.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on May 20, 2022
Elon Musk is facing serious sexual misconduct allegations after an article from Business Insider exclusively alleged that the Tesla CEO bought the silence of a SpaceX flight attendant after exposing himself to her in 2016.
While the alleged victim declined to speak to Insider, a friend alleged a sexual misconduct claim was filed against the company in 2018, and the woman was given a severance package of $250,000.
Musk vehemently denied the accusation on Twitter while his loyal, cult-like fanbase allege that the platform is hiding the opposing opinions.
Elon Musk issued a challenge to the alleged sexual misconduct victim.
The billionaire businessman issued a “challenge” to the alleged victim's friend, asking her to “describe just one thing, anything at all (scars, tattoos, …) that isn’t known by the public. She won’t be able to do so, because it never happened.”
The tweets were shared as part of an insensitive rant, delegitimizing the severity of the claims and implying they are part of a wider plot of radical leftists.
Elon Musk's supporters are accusing Twitter of silencing his sexual misconduct denial.
After Musk denied the allegations, fans claimed his tweet was not widely visible, accusing the social media conglomerate "hiding" his response.
Musk’s activity on Twitter recently has shown him attacking the Democratic party and claiming that their “dirty tricks campaign” against him was about to unfold — something that Musk supporters are citing as evidence to use against the Business Insider article.
However, it should be noted that Musk himself was quoted in the Insider article before it's Thursday evening release, likely meaning he knew the article was coming when he told his followers he now supports the Republican party and warned them about an alleged conspiracy against him.
One supporter on Twitter asked, “Where were these wild accusations against @elonmusk before he took a stand against the establishment?”
The tweet currently has over 50,000 likes and over 5,000 retweets, but during the early stages of its virality, some people noticed that the tweet was being marked as “unavailable” by Twitter.
Ever since the article went live on Business Insider at around 6 p.m. on May 19th, 2022, Musk has been on the social media platform defending himself against the accusations and has claimed them to be political attacks meant to interfere with his acquisition of Twitter.
He responded to this tweet, saying “Exactly. And, for the record, those wild accusations are utterly untrue.”
Elon Musk's supporters have accused 'the left' of being 'evil.'
Other Musk loyalists noted these hiccups and posted them all over Twitter, using them to fuel their political agendas and claims that “Elon is learning just how evil the Left really is.”
Once more and more people became aware of the original tweet becoming unavailable, including Musk himself, his supporters claimed that it reappeared, once again causing them to believe that it had been suppressed on purpose.
“The attacks against me should be viewed through a political lens – this is their standard (despicable) playbook – but nothing will deter me from fighting for a good future and your right to free speech,” he tweeted in response to the allegations and alleged suppression.
According to Business Insider, when they had reached out to Musk for a comment, he emailed a reply that asked for “more time to respond and said there is ‘a lot more to this story.’”
"If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light," he told Insider, adding that no allegations were made against him during the “MeToo era” but “as soon as I say I intend to restore free speech to Twitter & vote Republican, suddenly there is.”
Of course, it is not fair to question what stops victims and their supporters from coming forward as sexual abuse trauma is a complicated process. Equally, it is not irrational to want to expose an abuser when they are suddenly appearing in the news more frequently.
The victim’s friend who stepped forward urged others who might have been victims of Musk to step forward as well.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.