Elon Musk blasted for banning Rick Wilson from X over ‘Kill Tesla’ post: 'Completely anti-free speech'

WASHINGTON, DC: Rick Wilson, a longtime critic of former President Donald Trump, has been suspended from X (formerly Twitter) for 30 days after posting a call to “Kill Tesla. Save the Country.”

The remark, aimed at Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, was widely seen as a call for harm against the electric vehicle giant. In response, X swiftly took action, suspending Wilson’s account for a month, Dailycaller.com reported.

X suspends anti-Trump pundit Rick Wilson's account over Tesla threat

Rick Wilson, the co-founder of The Lincoln Project, lashed out on Wednesday, March 19, after being permanently banned from X following his controversial article titled "Kill Tesla, Save The Country."

In his Substack piece, Wilson described Tesla as “a bank for fascists, a goose-stepping hedge fund bankrolling the political fever dreams of Elon Musk and his DOGE dreams of controlling the ruins of the American government as he becomes Earth’s first trillionaire and then the Emperor of Mars.”  

Initially, Wilson claimed he had been hit with a 30-day posting restriction for violating platform policies. However, he later disclosed that the penalty had escalated to a “full suspension.”

Wilson took to Bluesky to vent about his ban, writing, “This is the article that got me banned on Twitter. Nazis? Fine. Racist freaks? Perfectly ok. Describing a social and media campaign to hit Tesla’s stock price? Sissy SpaceX freaks the f**k out.”

In another Bluesky post, Wilson remarked, “Guess Elon didn’t like my video from last night,” referring to a Lincoln Project YouTube clip where he criticized Musk over the ban and insisted he hadn’t advocated for violence. He said, “If I was calling for violence against you, you’d know it.” 

Wilson has a history of incendiary rhetoric. His latest suspension follows previous controversial remarks about Trump and goading people to be violent.

Elon Musk faces backlash for suspending Rick Wilson’s X account

Many social media users pointed out what they see as hypocrisy in Elon Musk's stance on “free speech,” arguing that his actions contradict his previous claims of supporting open dialogue.

One user wrote on X, “Silencing of your critics is straight out of the authoritarian playbook, and one step closer to the total loss of our freedoms. That's what Elon did by suspending Rick Wilson. #RickWilson.”

Others took a more personal jab at Musk, with one commenter saying, “The most fragile substance in the world is Elon. #RickWilson.”

Another added, “Awww. Poor wittle @elonmusk got his fee fees hurt because Rick Wilson wrote an article about Tesla being bad... so he banned him. Because he's a petty little.....and yet still gets more government subsidies than most people on earth.”

“Rick Wilson told us a while back that ‘Everything Trump touches dies.’ Elon must not have gotten the memo. Tesla appears to be heading for life support,” one person wrote.

“Elon Musk is a total fascist for suspending Rick Wilson,” one person said, while another wrote, “Dear MAGA: You want to arrest Rick Wilson for speaking the truth...?

Then we can arrest Muskrat and Trump for destroying the country and lying through their f**king teeth. Fair is fair.”

One individual wrote, "Banning Rick Wilson from X because he hurt your feelings is some total fascist **** s**t. Completely anti free speech and un-American!" while another remarked, "Rick Wilson suspended? Elmo claims to support free speech, but it’s obvious that he actually hates it."

One netizen remarked, " FREE SPEECH ALERT! Elon Musk's X suspended Rick Wilson for criticizing Tesla, exposing Musk's free speech hypocrisy. Is X truly a haven for open expression, or does it bend to Musk's interests?" 

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