Elon Musk doesn’t have a fan in Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie. In an interview with El Pais at the Hay Festival in Cartagena, Colombia, recently the British-Indian author slammed Elon Musk. Salman Rushdie expressed strong criticism of Elon Musk’s approach to free speech, suggesting that Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) promotes right-wing extremism rather than genuine free expression. “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 do is the opposite is very dishonest,” Rushdie said in the interview.
Rushdie recounted meeting Elon Musk a decade ago in Los Angeles, where the Tesla CEO discussed his plans for Mars colonisation. “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.
He added, “I’m not a fan of Mr Musk. And I would love for him to be the first man on Mars,” quipping, “So that he stays there.”
The author also addressed the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment globally, lamenting the decline of tolerance and empathy. As a “double migrant” himself, from India to England and then to the United States, Rushdie emphasized the positive contributions of migration to culture.
He pointed out the hypocrisy of anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S., a nation founded by immigrants, noting even Musk’s own South African origins. He cautioned against the consequences of widespread deportations, arguing that global movement is inevitable and cannot be stopped. “I think the world won’t stop having planes, ships. Movement will continue to happen; they cannot stop the world just because they don’t approve of it,” he said. “Right now, we’re concerned about the issue of deportations in the United States, and Americans should be careful what they wish for.”