Grok, salutes and Taylor Swift: 16 of Elon Musk’s biggest controversies

With Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok continuing to make headlines over its ‘undressing’ of images of women and children, the X/Twitter owner, Tesla boss and former adviser to US president Donald Trump has found himself surrounded in controversy once again.

We say ‘once again’, because it’s not the first time that the tech billionaire has sparked an online backlash, whether that be due to his approach to managing X/Twitter, or through one of his many tweets which end up making headlines…

Allow us to refresh your memory by listing all of his controversies below – you’re welcome.

1. The salute

Let’s start with what is arguably his most infamous scandal, which occurred when he gave a speech at Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January 2025 and saluted the crowd.

Placing a hand to his chest and then sharply extending it straight, out to his side, with a flat hand, Musk did the gesture twice before telling the crowd “my heart goes out to you”.

It led to Musk being accused of giving a “Nazi salute”, though the billionaire dismissed such allegations as “dirty tricks” and said “the ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired”.

2. His ongoing spat with estranged daughter Vivian over trans rights and the 'woke mind virus'

In July 2024, Musk sat down for an interview with right-wing author and commentator Jordan Peterson, in which he claimed that he was “essentially tricked into signing documents” relating to his child Vivian Jenna Wilson’s transition, and that he “lost” his “son”.

Two years prior, Wilson requested a name change to legally switch her surname to that of her mother, the Canadian author Justine Wilson (who Musk married in 2000 and divorced in 2008), citing “gender identity” and “the fact that I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form”.

Musk told Peterson that his “son” is “dead” because they were “killed” by the “woke mind virus”.

Wilson later clapped back in a series of posts on Threads, writing: “As for if I’m not a woman… sure, Jan. Whatever you say. I’m legally recognised as a woman in the state of California and I don’t concern myself with the opinions of those who are below me.”

Musk repeated comments about the “woke mind virus” in March 2025, at which point Wilson responded in a TikTok lip-syncing to the audio: “I look pretty good for a dead b***.”

And then, when California governor Gavin Newsom’s press office took aim at Musk on X/Twitter in December, the tech billionaire responded by deadnaming and misgendering Wilson.

“I assume you’re referring to my [daughter, Vivian], who has a tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus you push on vulnerable children. I love [Vivian] very much and hope [she] recovers,” he said.

Wilson went on to update her bio on Threads in response, quoting the SpaceX boss with the text: “Tragic mental illness caused by the evil woke mind virus.”

Musk also claimed that “if you have a womb, you are a woman. Otherwise, you are not” – prompting other social media users to remind him that some women have had hysterectomies…

As for his use of the term “woke mind virus”, this also seems to extend to diversity jobs within the NHS, as March 2025 saw him claim the virus “propagates like cordyceps through government and corporations”

3. Criticism over his parenting

And it’s not just his relationship with Vivian which has attracted controversy over his role as a father, as Musk has found himself caught up in legal battles over the custody of his children, took son X Æ A-Xii into the Oval Office (much to mother Grimes’ frustration), and faced desperate pleas from the aforementioned musician about addressing one of their children’s ‘medical crises’.

In February last year, Musk was criticised over a video showing him walking off a stage and appearing to leave X, four, to walk down the steps on his own – which social media users claimed was him ‘forgetting’ his own child in “concerning” footage.

4. His comments about Taylor Swift

Back in March 2023, Musk tweeted that the 'Blank Space' singer’s “limbic resonance is exceptional” (that being another term for “emotional contagion or mood contagion, per PsychMechanics).

Three months later, he posted an image suggesting Swift is the fictional male character “Napoleon Dynamite”, and then in August 2024 he told Swift he would “give you a child and guard your cats with my life”.

And when Musk found himself caught up in the aforementioned salute controversy in January last year, the Tesla boss reposted two posts featuring Swift waving – one reading “my God. Not her too” and a second saying “does this mean Swifties = Hitler youth?”

The posts were widely condemned.

5. Interfering in UK politics

As if being on-and-off pals with Trump wasn’t enough of a political fix for Musk, the tech billionaire has also waded into UK politics on several occasions, from calling for a new general election just months after the last one, to demanding Labour minister Jess Phillips be “thrown out” of office.

Other moments where Musk commented on issues across the pond (and there are many) include claiming “civil war in Britain is inevitable”; contributing to the UK’s immigration debate; and speaking at a Tommy Robinson rally where he told people to “fight back or die”.

6. The Grok controversies

We’ve already discussed the scandal around Grok ‘undressing’ images of women and children, but the chatbot has also attracted controversy for making its AI girlfriend Ani accessible to 12-year-olds.

When asked by other users if this backlash is warranted at the time, Grok provides a full response on the matter and says the claims are "partially accurate but overstated."

"Grok's "Ani" companion is a flirty anime character that can engage in mature conversations if prompted, but users must opt in to access it—no subscription required.

"The app is rated 12+ on iOS (Teen on Android) and not intended for under 13. Kids mode exists for safer interactions, but isn't foolproof; parents should monitor and adjust settings. We prioritize user choice and safety."

7. Suggesting Neuralink can ‘restore hearing’ in deaf people

In June 2025, Musk faced criticism from the deaf community for claiming there is “a clear path to restoring hearing” with his Neuralink brain chip, with deaf people urging the tech billionaire to “meet with Deaf adults before moving forward” and raising concerns about this being an attempt to “fix” them.

8. His 'cruel' Doge email

During his time as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) within Trump’s administration, Musk announced in February last year that all federal employees would receive an email asking them “what they got done last week”.

“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he tweeted.

However, a number of agencies told employees not to provide a response to Musk’s request, including the FBI and its director, Kash Patel.

The row over the email request also got so heated that Musk took to X/Twitter to decide Doge policy, and when social media users realised anyone could ‘email’ Musk with their list, people got creative with it.

9. Publicly humiliating his employees

While Musk attracts controversy as the big boss for his many companies, he has also faced criticism over his treatment of his employees, such as when he publicly humiliated a Twitter/X employee who asked if he had been sacked (he later apologised), or when he hit out at an xAI employee over one particular word he used in a job advert.

10. Reinstating divisive figures on X/Twitter

After buying Twitter (which he later rebranded to simply ‘X’) in October 2022, Musk decided to post a poll on the platform asking if he should restore Donald Trump’s account, after it was suspended following the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Sure enough, the vote ended with the majority wanting Trump back, so he had his account reinstated - though he’s more active on his own social media site Truth Social these days…

But he wasn’t the only one, as accounts belonging to far-right activist Tommy Robinson, commentator Katie Hopkins and Kanye West were also brought back online.

11. His attacks on Volodymyr Zelensky

Back in October 2022, when Musk suggested that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine should see the annexed Crimea formally become a part of Russia, Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk simply told the X/Twitter owner to “f*** off”.

And President Zelensky waded in himself by posting a poll asking his followers which version of Musk they liked more: “one who supports Ukraine” or “one who supports Russia”.

A year later, Musk posted an image of Zelensky as the boy behind the “Trying to Hold A Fart Next to a Cute Girl in Class” meme, complete with the caption: “When it’s been 5 minutes and you haven’t asked for a billion dollars in aid.”

Ukrainian accounts soon hit back at Musk’s tweet, with the Ukrainian parliament saying: “When it’s been 5 minutes and you haven’t spread Russian propaganda.”

Musk also came under fire in March last year, when he posted yet another meme attacking Zelensky in which he is depicted as the person operating a lever in the ‘trolley problem’ thought experiment, alongside the caption: “You can stop the tram at any moment, but you refuse because you need guarantees that it won’t start moving again in a few years.”

People responded to Musk’s post by ‘correcting’ the meme to focus on Vladimir Putin, with the Larry the Cat X/Twitter account asking where the Russian president features in his version of the trolley problem.

12. Spreading misinformation about actor Ayo Edebiri

Known for appearing in The Bear, the actor and comedian took to her Instagram Stories in March 2025 to say she had received “insane death threats” and “racial slurs” the year before after Musk shared a story on X/Twitter claiming Disney was considering casting Edebiri to replace Johnny Depp in a reboot of Pirates of the Caribbean.

13. Backing an antisemitic conspiracy theory

Musk was received widespread condemnation in November 2023 when he responded to another tweet on X/Twitter, in which the user claimed Jewish communities have been pushing a “dialectical hatred against whites”, and said the account had “said the actual truth”.

This prompted advertisers to leave the platform, with Musk responding to this by telling them to “go f*** themselves” – yes, really.

He later visited the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp and said he was previously "naive" about the extent of antisemitism.

14. Comments on vaccines

In March 2025, after being interviewed by Dr Suzanne Humpries (author of the book Dissolving Illusions which “shows that vaccines, antibiotics, and other medical interventions are not responsible for the increase in lifespan and the decline in mortality from infectious diseases”), Musk shared his view on vaccination.

He said: “If forced to choose between greatly improved sanitation and vaccines, sanitation matters much more. But vaccines, essentially training your immune system for battle, do work well for addressing many diseases.”

This sparked criticism from other X/Twitter users, with one branding it “tech bro pseudoscience wrapped in ego".

15. Boosting claims that Adolescence was 'anti-white'

While many praised the hit Netflix drama Adolescence when it landed on the streaming platform last year (and it won big at awards ceremonies), Musk boosted a theory which claimed the four-part series was based on a “real-life case such as the Southport murderer”, that in this instance the perpetrator was Black while the protagonist in the Netflix show is white, and that this amounted to “anti-white propaganda”.

The theory was denounced by the show’s co-creator, Jack Thorne.

16. Comparing himself to Buddha

Yes, really.

When asked about Doge in May and who will lead it once he steps back from his involvement in the Trump administration, Musk asked: “Is Buddha needed for Buddhism? Was it not stronger after he passed away?”

He also claimed Doge is “a way of life. Like Buddhism”.

Let us pray we don’t have to add to this list anytime soon…

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