Elon Musk Celebrates Pride by Calling LGBTQ Identity a "Personal Choice"

I have never seen a face that looked this uncomfortablePhoto: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP (Getty Images)

Elon Musk, the electric car #disruptor known for calling trans people’s pronouns an “esthetic nightmare” that “suck” and calling the fight for LGBTQ rights and support for Ukraine “the current thing,” has innovated in yet another sector: Avoidably awful ways to kick off Pride Month. Most companies and influential people prefer to make simple, straightforward posts voicing support for LGBTQ rights, but Musk has a new approach — calling the state of being LGBTQ a “personal choice.”

Initially, Musk tweeted out a link to Human Rights Campaign’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index, a study that rates various corporations on criteria like “Workforce Protections,” “Inclusive Benefits,” and “Responsible Citizenship.” The goal of the study is to commend inclusive workplaces, and establish a ranking of the best places for LGBTQ people to work. Tesla, it seems, earned a perfect score.

Of course, the question of how Tesla earned a 100-point score from HRC remains. That “Responsible Citizenship” criteria entails a 25-point deduction for any company with “a large-scale official or public anti-LGBTQ blemish on their recent records.” With Musk’s known love for the actively transphobic Babylon Bee, as well as his association with anti-LGBTQ government officials, Tesla’s CEO could himself be considered a blemish on the automaker’s recent record. Though, maybe that’s just the viewpoint of what Elon calls “the woke mind virus.”

Musk has repeatedly claimed to be pro-LGBTQ, but actions speak louder than words. His Twitter buyout bid caught so many users off-guard that many LGBTQ+ people considered leaving the platform entirely for fear of how he would handle online harassment. Tesla itself has been sued over accusations of racism and homophobia within the company.

Musk seems to have wanted to join in the chorus of accounts ringing in Pride Month. Maybe what he really needed, after being utterly dunked on earlier this week, was to simply log off.