The Industry
His fortunes reached new heights while his online behavior reached new lows.
By
Nitish Pahwa
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June 15, 2026 5:57 PM
A protest in New York City on Thursday.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
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Last Monday, a white Northern Irishman named Stephen Oglivie was critically stabbed in Belfast by a 30-year-old Sudanese immigrant, who was arrested and charged with attempted murder. Oglivie was hospitalized with serious injuries, having lost his left eye in the attack, but a local politician told the BBC that his condition is “ improving .” Mobs of angry Britons—already incensed by video footage of a white Southampton student, Henry Nowak, who’d been stabbed to death by a Sikh in December—mobilized in response, torching cars and buildings across North Belfast and targeting local immigrant populations . The violence in Northern Ireland has since quelled, but copycat anti-immigrant riots have spread across the United Kingdom.
Britain has seen plenty of anti-immigrant furor over the past few years, but rarely had any of those gatherings reached such a devastating scale. Researchers with the Center for Countering Digital Hate pinpointed one particularly influential figurehead of this disorder: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who spent the week on X explicitly boosting more than 100 vile reactions and calls to violence from extremist Brits. His inflammatory posts came amid his rockets-and-A.I. company’s debut on the stock markets Friday as the largest initial public offering in history, which made him, at least on paper, the world’s first trillionaire. As his wealth reached unprecedented heights, so did the reach and danger of the rhetoric he chose to amplify.
At this point, one may reasonably wonder whether there is anything that can hold Musk to account, after all these years of elite impunity, when politicians and investors have consistently let Musk off the hook for everything from endorsing antisemetic slogans and gestures to building a chatbot that spews white supremacist rhetoric and deepfake porn . Yet even as Musk amasses the world’s largest fortune on paper, bolstered by myriad institutions that shrug off his vile actions, there is still one group determined to hold his feet to the fire: everyday people on the streets of the U.S. and the U.K.
Across the pond, the people most affected by the unrest, and its instigating events, are not having any of it. The families of Stephen Oglivie and Henry Nowak have been resolute in demanding that these horrific attacks not be leveraged for inciting disorder—or for terrorizing the U.K.’s many immigrants. (A man who interfered in the attack on Oglivie and helped save his life likewise echoed that sentiment .) In Belfast itself, local communities have gathered en masse to support their immigrant neighbors , whether by hiding them from roving mobs or raising money to repair their homes and businesses. Many others are putting their money back into their homes and communities, or taking to the streets to organize anti-racist counterprotests, rallying thousands of Belfast residents with them . (The anti-Musk solidarity has even reached other parts of Europe: In Geneva, tens of thousands of Swiss residents came together to protest the ongoing G7 conference, and set a parked Tesla on fire .)
Stateside, the anti-Musk protests have been much more symbolic, but no less pointed. On Thursday, a 40-foot-tall inflatable balloon shaped like a shirtless Musk appeared outside the Nasdaq headquarters, surrounded by banners reading “Grok Makes AI Porn” and “#StopSpaceXChildNudes,” in an allusion to the nonconsensual sexual deepfakes that have been (and are still being ) produced en masse by X’s chatbot. The organizers, who wore black T-shirts saying “STOP SPACEX’S AI PORN,” have not revealed anything about themselves, but they certainly got to Musk: Imagery of the balloon went viral across X, and Musk whined that the protest slogans were “ totally false .” That’s, apparently, what it takes to distract the SpaceX CEO from his racist online crusades.
On Friday, as SpaceX went live on the charts and JPMorgan Chase planned a luxurious celebration for Musk, the activist group Stop Funding Billionaires rallied a few dozen protesters in front of the big bank’s headquarters, agitating against one particular aspect of the mega-IPO: the fact that many Americans’ retirement accounts are now being forced into investing with SpaceX, thanks to special accommodations that Wall Street traders have made for Musk. The values of major pension and 401(k) payouts are often tethered to index funds that track major indices, and the sheer size of SpaceX’…
Read the full article at Slate →📄Source document: Protest in New York City→4 reports
Mother JonesIndependentLeft4 days agoMother Jones publishes an article titled 'Elon Musk: The World’s Worst Trillionaire,' which critically examines Elon Musk's actions and influence.
Bias read (Left): The headline uses strong, critical language ('worst trillionaire') suggesting a negative evaluation of Musk, likely reflecting a left-leaning perspective. The framing implies criticism of Musk's business practices and influence, aligning with common left-leaning critiques of corporate power and CEO
RealClearPoliticsIndependentRight5 days agoThe article argues that Elon Musk did not abandon the Left but rather that the Left abandoned innovation, resulting in Musk being the one who paid the price.
Bias read (Right): The article frames the Left as having 'left innovation behind' and suggests that the Left's actions resulted in negative consequences for them, implying criticism of progressive policies or ideologies. The phrasing implies a critique of leftist approaches to innovation and entrepreneurship, aligning
SlateIndependentLeft5 days agoThe article discusses events surrounding Elon Musk becoming a trillionaire, highlighting his controversial online behavior during this period. It also touches on recent incidents of anti-immigrant violence in the UK, including a stabbing in Belfast and subsequent riots.
Bias read (Left): The article frames Elon Musk's personal conduct negatively, using terms like 'ugliest' and focusing on his online behavior rather than his economic achievements. This suggests a critical perspective towards Musk, aligning more with left-leaning viewpoints that often scrutinize corporate leaders and富
The New York Times (US)Independent🔒Center8 days agoThe article discusses John D. Rockefeller becoming America's first billionaire in 1916, drawing a parallel between his achievement and Elon Musk's recent status as the world's first trillionaire.
Bias read (Center): The article presents historical economic milestones without taking a stance or showing bias toward any political ideology. It simply compares two significant financial achievements without framing them in a politically charged manner.
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