Elon Musk hasn’t got many people in his corner at the moment: the White House has accused him of spreading a “hideous lie,” major advertisers have pulled their spending and investors are slamming his actions.
Musk’s troubles come after he endorsed an antisemitic post on X—the social media site formerly known as Twitter—which Musk bought last year.
“Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” the post on X read, which Musk responded was “the actual truth.”
The Tesla CEO has been hit with a wave of backlash—a s well as veteran investors in his EV maker turning against him—though some high-profile individuals have come to his defense.
Among those who are backing Musk is billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who has been a vocal critic of Harvard University’s response to claims of antisemitism on its campus.
Writing on X, Ackman declared: “Elon Musk is not an antisemite.”
“It is remarkable how quickly the world stands ready to attack Musk for his shoot-from-the-hip commentary,” Ackman continued. “Musk is not perfect, but the world is a vastly better place because of him.”
.@elonmusk is not an antisemite. I agree with @benshapiro’s assessment of the situation.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 18, 2023
It is remarkable how quickly the world stands ready to attack Musk for his shoot from the hip commentary.
Musk is not perfect, but the world is a vastly better place because of him. Https://t.co/YXcLGmugwX
In the post, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management added he agreed with conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro, who said Musk’s comments had been taken out of context.
Shapiro highlighted that following his “actual truth” response, Musk had added: “This does not extend to all Jewish communities, but it is also not just limited to ADL.”
The ADL—Anti-Defamation League—is a Jewish nonprofit fighting the spread of bigotry and anti-Semitism, which Musk previously said he plans to sue for defaming the reputation of X publicly.
Late last night Musk doubled down on his denial of antisemitism, saying: “This past week, there were hundreds of bogus media stories claiming that I am antisemitic. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
“I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all,” he finished.
It’s not the first time Ackman has shown his support for Musk—just last month the billionaire said he would “absolutely” be interested in a deal with X Corp following the launch of his new investment vehicle.
Ackman vs Harvard
Ackman, worth roughly $2.2 billion according to Bloomberg, has pushed his alma mater hard to eradicate antisemitism on the Harvard campus.
The investor asked Harvard University to reveal the names of students who signed a statement holding Israel “entirely responsible” for the deadly conflict in the country, saying he—and other high-profile CEOs—wanted to see the names so that “none of us inadvertently hire any of their members.”
Harvard University has condemned the violence in Israel and distanced itself from the statement from student society Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) holding Israel solely responsible for the deadly conflict.
Ackman later wrote to Harvard to urge it to suspend students who were involved in an alleged attack on a Jewish individual during a demonstration on Oct. 18.
In the letter shared on Nov. 4 he also called on university president Claudine Gay to take immediate steps to reduce antisemitism on campus, a situation he called “dire” after meeting with students and faculty a week prior week.
A Harvard spokesperson pointed to the university’s prior comments over campus safety and community conduct but declined to directly address Ackman’s letter.