Elon Musk used his Twitter platform to attack fundraiser George Soros on Tuesday, claiming that the prominent Democratic Party financier “hates humanity,” and comparing him to comic-book super villain Magneto.
In a tweet which has been viewed more than 20 million times, Musk wrote without explanation that “Soros reminds me of Magneto” – the mutant comic book anti-hero of the X-Men series. Musk elaborated on Soros when pressed by journalist Brian Krassenstein, claiming the Hungarian-American businessman was a frequent right-wing punching bag because some people object to his “good intentions” as “they disagree with his political affiliations.”
“You assume they are good intentions,” Musk responded on Twitter early on Tuesday. “They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.” The SpaceX and Tesla CEO offered no further evidence to substantiate his claim.
Magneto is a principal character in the Marvel Comics X-Men franchise. The arch-villain of the series, Magneto was played by the British actor Ian McKellan in several feature films, and possesses the ability to control magnetic fields with his mind. Like Soros, Magneto is a survivor of the Holocaust in X-Men canon.
Soon after his Tuesday Twitter salvo, Musk was accused by David Kaye, the former UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, of promoting anti-Semitic tropes often linked to Soros. “Twitter under Musk really brings it: grade school versions of free speech, quisling in the face of government demands, Soros-baiting anti-Semitism, 2nd amendment extremism – and that’s just his account.”
Musk’s attack on Soros came days after it was revealed in financial filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the billionaire investor’s Soros Fund Management hedge fund group had sold the entirety of its shares in Musk’s electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla in late March.
The filing indicated that Soros’ group had around 132,000 Tesla shares on its books at the end of 2022 but dumped its entire stake in the opening months of 2023 after stock rose by 68% from January to March of this year. However, Tesla shares have fallen by around 11% in the past month. The Soros-backed hedge fund also sold other stocks from its portfolio, including Amazon and Alphabet.
In a recent interview, Soros dismissed what he called “far-fetched” allegations that he uses his finances as a means to meddle in political affairs.
Did George Soros Dump Tesla Shares to Spite Elon Musk?
Musk has stirred up a Twitstorm after it was reported that Soros sold his large stake in the electric vehicle giant. But was the Hungarian-born billionaire just cashing in on rising share prices?
Billionaire NGO kingpin George Soros has sparked rumours of a spat with Twitter owner Elon Musk by dumping his entire stake in Tesla Motors.
Reports emerged on Monday that Soros had sold his holding of some 132,000 shares in the electric vehicle maker during the first quarter of the year, apparently cashing in as they soared in value by 68 per cent.
That surge has since subsided — possibly due to Soros' share dump — but the Tesla stock price remains 37 per cent higher than it was a year ago.
Late on Monday night, Musk posted a tweet comparing Soros to X-Men supervillain Magneto — before doubling down and saying the Hungarian tycoon "hates humanity."
You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2023
The two billionaires may have several reasons for disliking each other, although it is unclear whether the two have ever met.
Ongoing Conflict
Soros is a major supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. His Open Society Foundations organisation funded Ukrainian NGOs involved in the 2014 Euromaidan riots by neo-nazi militias that forced out elected president Viktor Yanukovych. In February this year Musk tweeted that the events were "indeed a coup."
Two weeks before that comment, Musk cut off Ukrainian armed forces' access to his Starlink remote satellite telecoms service, fearing that they had found a way to "weaponize" it and wanting to avoid "escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3."
And in October last year, Musk floated his own framework for a peace settlement in Ukraine, which included Kiev recognising Crimea's overwhelming vote in 2014 to reunite with Russia and giving up its ambition of joining the US-led NATO military alliance — the latter one of Moscow's main conditions for ending hostilities.
Partisan Battles
Musk has drawn fire from US liberals since his private equity buy-out of social media giant Twitter last October, promising more freedom of speech on the platform.
He ordered an overhaul of censorship policies and sacked thousands of staff, prompting alarmist claims that Twitter would soon be overrun by the far-right.
Since then, many high-profile Conservative and "alt-right" commentators who had been suspended had their accounts re-instated, along with those of left-wingers and feminists banned for criticising transgender ideology.
Musk also released the bombshell Twitter files to journalist Matt Taibbi which showed how the company worked with government agencies like the FBI to silence dissenting voices.
Soros is a major contributor of election funds to the Democratic Party, which had previously enjoyed near-hegemony of its ideas on US-based social media — although former Republican president Donald Trump has so far refused to return to Twitter since his banning in January 2020.
Simple Economics?
However, Soros also sold shares in Tesla's competitor Rivian Automotive. That may indicate that he has lost confidence that the trend in electric car sales, driven by government reguulations banning new petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles in the next decade, would continue to rise.
The Hungarian-born billionaire also sold 14.37 per cent of his huge stake in First Horizon Bank, although that still left him with 7.31 million shares.
Attorney David Tawil, co-founder of Pro-Chain Capital, told Sputnik that it was simply "impossible that these things are connected."
"Soros' stake that has been reduced has been documented not because Soros went ahead and volunteered that information," he explained, adding that all major investment funds, Soros' had 45 days from the end of the first quarter on March 31 to release details of its stock holdings.
"So from December 31st, 2022 until through March 31st, 2023, Soros dumped his stock," Tawil noted "In that period of time, January to March 2023, the price of Tesla stock was up 68 per cent. So Soros said, 'Oh, I made a lot of money. Let me go ahead and prudently take a bunch of profits off the table.'"
"For all we know, Soros bought Tesla back. For all we know Soros is shorting," the fund manager conjectured. "I don't know. But at the end of the day, what's happening today has nothing to do with what Soros just reported, which is as of March 31, 2023."
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