Interviewer David Faber winced noticeably as if he knew that he inadvertently handed Elon Musk a rope to hang himself with and now was forced to watch as the tycoon slowly fashioned a noose.
The remarkable exchange on CNBC revealed just how a talismanic CEO could end up posing as much of a danger to his own investors as a boon.
Moments earlier, Faber lobbed a query over to Musk: Does sharing his deeply personal opinions with 140 million followers on social media damage his sprawling business empire?
Glancing away for a few seconds, Musk paused in silence as he searched for a suitable way to articulate himself.
Eventually, he began to recall a scene from 1987’s classic film The Princess Bride where Iñigo Montoya, having bested the man that murdered his father in swordplay, now has the villainous Count Rugen dead to rights.
“He says: ‘Offer me money, offer me power,” Musk paraphrases roughly, as the scene plays out in his mind. Fixing Faber squarely in his sights, he plunged the next words in slowly and deliberately. “I don’t care.”
A stunned Faber can only repeat the words back at him as the full weight of what he just heard dawns on the interviewer—"You just don’t care."
Musk, his gaze not wandering one bit this time, asserts: “I’ll say what I want to say—and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it.”
Silence followed as Musk allows his words to sink in.
It’s one thing to be a star athlete or Hollywood actor that commits a tasteless and insensitive gaffe. Worst comes to worst they might only lose their job and their fame.
By comparison, Musk runs a company upon which dozens of suppliers depend, employing 110,000 workers at Tesla alone and serving millions of customers.
He moreover carries a fiduciary responsibility to his own shareholders. Much more is riding on the line than the loss of his own vast fortune.
Musk under fire over Soros tweets
Earlier that day, the Israeli government warned his incendiary remarks regarding Jewish billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, who Musk compared with a comic book supervillain, threatened to incite anti-Jewish bigotry.
Jonathan Greenblatt of the Jewish advocacy group Anti-Defamation League meanwhile called his comments dangerous.
“It will embolden extremists who already contrive anti-Jewish conspiracies and have tried to attack Soros and Jewish communities as a result,” the ADL CEO said.
CNBC’s Faber attempted a second time to toss Musk another softball. Surely he didn’t want to get sucked into an online debate over whether the Allen, Texas murderer was a racist or not?
“Yes,” Musk countered, perhaps unaware Texas police have confirmed shooter Mauricio Garcia harbored neo-Nazi sympathies from his clothing and tattoos. “Because we should not be ascribing things to white supremacy if it's false,” the Pretoria native said.
Nothing will distract Musk from voicing his views, however controversial they may be. And while this may make him a darling among those sick and tired of today’s cancel culture, investors expecting a return for their risk are hereby warned.
