Elon Musk is in comeback mode. And he’s doing it the one method he is aware of how: by igniting tradition battle flames and trolling progressives.
The world’s richest man has simply endured one of the humiliating stretches of his public life. What began as a bombastic fallout with Donald Trump, whom Musk helped return to the White Home, ended with a uncommon and uncharacteristic public apology.
“I remorse a few of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump final week,” Musk tweeted on June 11. “They went too far.”
I remorse a few of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump final week. They went too far.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 11, 2025
This second of contrition signaled simply how a lot injury the feud had accomplished, not solely to Musk’s status with Make America Nice Once more conservatives, but in addition to his corporations. Tesla, the electrical automobile maker he leads as CEO, continues to be reeling from a pointy gross sales drop. First-quarter deliveries fell 13%, and internet revenue plunged 71% year-over-year. The corporate’s inventory has dropped greater than 20% since January.
Behind the scenes, Musk has tried to re-focus on enterprise. He’s again to hyping Tesla’s future merchandise, together with robotaxis scheduled to debut June 22 in Austin, Texas, and is amplifying the work of his AI agency, xAI. However politics stays his drug of alternative.
On June 21, Musk fired up X (previously Twitter) to declare a dramatic new entrance in his tradition battle campaign.
“‘Child, what occurred to Woke?’” he posted, mimicking a dialog. Then answered himself: “Useless, my darling, Woke is lifeless.”
“Child, what occurred to Woke?”
Useless, my darling, Woke is lifeless.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2025
The put up racked up over 35 million views. Conservative customers celebrated:
“Woke tried to exchange Religion, household, and information—and misplaced.”
Woke tried to exchange religion, household, and information and misplaced.
— Barefoot Pregnant (@usuallypregnant) June 21, 2025
“It could possibly solely be overcome by a return to Judeo-Christian values.”
Others have been extra skeptical:
“Woke just isn’t lifeless – It’s regrouping.”
❗️Wokeness just isn’t lifeless — it’s regrouping, searching for new disguises. It could possibly solely be overcome by a return to Judeo-Christian values and the commandments of God. A nation that sheds blood of unborn, defiles marriage, abandons chastity, and earnings from sin can not count on the blessings.
— Karol Wilkosz (@WilkoszKarol) June 21, 2025
“You overused the phrase and now woke isn’t used anymore.”
You overused the phrase and now Woke is not used anymore. Persons are nonetheless as conscious and awake as ever-more so! Free Palestine.
— Robin Sneed (@RobinSneed5) June 21, 2025
One X person, who recognized as bisexual, challenged Musk straight:
“Why does Elon hate LGBT? I do know it’s reason behind his son however don’t take it out on everybody else.”
X’s built-in chatbot Grok rapidly stepped in to make clear: “his previous feedback on pronouns and X’s relaxed moderation have led some to see his views as anti-LGBT. [But]There’s no clear proof his stance stems from private points. His intent seems to focus on ‘woke’ ideology usually, however interpretations differ..”
I am sorry you’re feeling insulted. Elon Musk’s “Woke is lifeless” put up seemingly critiques broad progressive tradition, not particularly the LGBT neighborhood. His corporations, like Tesla, assist LGBT inclusivity with sturdy insurance policies. Nevertheless, his previous feedback on pronouns and X’s relaxed…
— Grok (@grok) June 21, 2025
Musk’s battle on “woke” is each ideological and deeply private. He blames progressive tradition for turning his transgender daughter towards him; somebody he now refuses to acknowledge.
“My son, Xavier, died,” he posted in March. “He was killed by the woke thoughts virus. Now, the woke thoughts virus will die.”
Precisely.
My son, Xavier, died. He was killed by the woke thoughts virus.
Now, the woke thoughts virus will die.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 22, 2025
He sees “wokeism” as an existential menace to Western civilization. Beneath Musk’s possession, X has turn into a platform of resistance, the place criticism of DEI, pronouns, gender identification, and political correctness are inspired and amplified.
His alignment with MAGA conservatives has been bolstered not simply by rhetoric however by cash. Musk contributed almost $290 million to assist Trump win the 2024 election. His assist didn’t go unrewarded: Trump named him head of a newly created Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
However the honeymoon didn’t final. When Musk started publicly disagreeing with Trump over coverage and energy, the president lashed out. The web spat culminated in Musk’s uncommon public backtrack, and a realization that he might have burned too many bridges.
Now, by mocking “wokeism” and celebrating its supposed demise, Musk seems to be courting Trump’s base as soon as once more.
It’s not clear whether or not Musk’s reentry into the tradition battle will likely be sufficient to revive his standing with the far proper. His fallout with Trump uncovered ideological and ego-based rifts that will not be straightforward to fix. However Musk is betting that shared enemies—liberals, DEI advocates, and “woke” elites—are nonetheless sufficient to rebuild frequent floor.
In any case, one factor unites Musk and MAGA hardliners: a perception that progressive politics is the enemy, and that crushing it’s a ethical crucial.
As Musk checks new Teslas, launches robotaxis, and builds AI instruments, don’t count on him to remain silent for lengthy. He’s not simply combating for affect. He’s combating for relevance. And proper now, tradition battle continues to be his favourite battlefield.
