On Elon Musk
I’m taking the liberty of reblogging this post about the Royal Society’s inaction in the case of Elon Musk. I urge you to read the post. As I said in a previous article:
The venerable Royal Society still counts him as a Fellow, despite his overtly antiscientific dissemination of false information and his support for far-right extremism. I don’t know how Musk was elected an FRS in 2018, perhaps before the worst of his character became widely known, but the fact that he remains a Fellow tarnishes the reputation of that organization.
I urge you to read the following blog post and also to sign (as I have done) the open letter from Stephen Curry.
In the Dark 
February 14, 2025 at 11:30 am
Fully support this. In the past billionaires like Musk supported fascists and other far right organisations from the shadows. Now fully and blatantly in the open, a full member of Trump’s government. In charge of a organisation cutting funding around the world, and ensuring ordinary people live within their means, whilst increasing subsidy to his own companies, and aiming to reduce tax for the wealth to a minimum. The MAGA supporters don’t care if ordinary people suffer as long as other groups like immigrants suffer worse. An age old tactic that other political groups are following in other countries like Reform in the UK. Worrying times.
February 18, 2025 at 2:06 pm
The Royal Society needs to be careful not to be seen to be making decisions for political reasons. As a Fellow of the Royal Society I understand that they are in a difficult position. However, as an individual I can engage in politics. The MAGA movement is reliant on disinformation. Their aim is to generate anger and unrest and one way of doing this is by telling lies and insulting people. Hence the criticisms of Jess Phillips and Anthony Fauci. Hence the absurdity of Vance saying that Europe is more dangerous than Russia. They argue the case for ‘freedom of speech’, but what they want to do is to have the freedom to propagate lies (stolen election??). What is happening in the US now is a vicious assault on freedom of speech by the MAGA movement. Vance regards Universities as a threat — maybe academics should pass a MAGA test before they are appointed to faculty positions. Musk’s politics stink but so do his ethical standards. He has a reckless disregard for the truth and if he had integrity he would resign from the Royal Society. He has no place in a Society which has very different values to his own.
March 4, 2025 at 11:01 am
[…] while ago I posted an item about the Royal Society’s failure to take proper action against Elon Musk. The petition I linked to […]