Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Fox News ’ Sean Hannity that people “want to kill him” after a string of attacks on the electric car company in an interview that some have decried as “woe is me.”
The world’s richest person has also been conducting mass layoffs and slashing contracts in an effort to cut “waste, fraud and abuse” in his role as Department of Government Efficiency boss. Enraged by the sweeping, legally dubious changes to the federal government in recent weeks, some have targeted Tesla , torching charging stations , vandalizing vehicles , and throwing Molotov cocktails at the cars.
Not long after his rocket company SpaceX safely brought two astronauts stranded on board the International Space Station back to Earth, Musk said on Hannity Tuesday evening that the attacks against him and his company have been a “shock” to him. He blamed Democrats, without evidence, for the violence.
"It's really come as quite a shock to me, this violence from the left. I thought the Democrats were supposed to be the party of empathy, the party of caring, and yet they're burning down cars, and firing bullets into dealerships,” he said.
"Tesla is an entirely peaceable firm. We have never engaged in anything detrimental; neither have I personally. My actions have consistently been constructive," Musk went on, mentioning his belief in some form of "psychological ailment." He implied that many Americans were perturbed with DOGE ’s efforts.
It seems that once you remove the funds they're obtaining illegally, they become extremely agitated," he went on. "They essentially wish to harm me for halting their fraudulent activities, and they aim to damage Tesla since we're putting an end to this significant waste and corruption within the government. So, I suppose these individuals are not good people; bad actors tend to engage in nefarious deeds.
DOGE claims to have saved the government approximately $115 billion — a sum that many reports have said is inaccurate.
It appears Musk's effort to come across as empathetic did not sway certain individuals on X, the social media platform he owns.
"This is akin to North Korean-level propaganda coming from Elon Musk and Sean Hannity during their interview on Fox News," as stated by Twitter user Art Candee. said In reaction to the interview, "Fraud? If Elon Musk uncovered fraud, individuals would be facing arrests at this moment. This self-pity routine coupled with outright falsehoods is irritating."
Another X user quipped : “Can't wait to see Elon's mom show up again to tell people to stop attacking her precious.”
“A such victim,” added another individual. remarked.
”Rich kid never takes responsibility,” another user wrote .
CNN correspondent Hadas Gold posted “I’m uncertain whether Sean Hannity is conducting an interview with Elon Musk or proposing him for sainthood.”
Highlighting how often Hannity and Musk talked about his electric vehicles, Aaron Blake, a top political correspondent, noted this in his report for the-wsj. Washington Post, wrote Tesla likely owes Fox some advertising fees.
In the interview, Musk said he believes “larger forces” were at work, questioning who funded and coordinated the attacks. The language he used was similar to that of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who on Tuesday issued a statement vowing to investigate these attacks, including “those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”
Bondi also referred to the violent assaults on Tesla’s properties as "no less than domestic terrorism." She mentioned that the Department of Justice has already brought charges against "multiple assailants" in relation to these events.
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