Why Is Elon Musk Feuding With Billie Eilish?
Elon Musk has garnered a great deal of criticism this year, and one of his most recent detractors is Billie Eilish. In an October speech at the Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator Awards, Eilish called out the billionaires in the room for not donating enough of their money. She zeroed in on Musk in her Instagram Story this month. Several days later, Musk responded.
Billie Eilish called out Elon Musk amid news that he could become a trillionaire
On her Instagram account, Eilish shared a series of infographics laying out ways that Musk could redistribute his enormous wealth. Musk is not yet a trillionaire, but a proposed pay package from Tesla could push him over the threshold. The suggestions included ending world hunger, providing universal access to safe, clean drinking water, saving up to 10,000 endangered species, and helping rebuild Gaza, Ukraine, and Syria.
Eilish ended the series of posts with her own words, slamming Musk as a “f***ing pathetic p**** b**** coward.”
Four days later, Musk finally responded on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.”
People are siding with Billie Eilish over Elon Musk
Musk’s response to Eilish hasn’t impressed many people. Many pointed to the fact that he took a while to hit back when he responded to other critics, like Joyce Carol Oates, much quicker.
“He’s so deeply pathetic,” wrote one Reddit user. “He can’t even think of a suitable comeback and has resorted to a cliched insult that is completely unsuitable for the context.”
Others pointed out that Musk’s description of Eilish didn’t matter. They still believe he should do more to redistribute his wealth.
“Maybe she isn’t, but the argument she made is solid steel,” wrote one person. “If the man who owns the biggest toolbox in the world is unwilling to use it to fix the roof over our heads, does his ‘sharpness’ really matter?”
“When you can’t attack the argument, attack the person,” added another person. “Did he really need a few days to remember that? And then this is the burn we’re supposed to slow clap for…? God just when you think this man can’t possibly sink any lower on the disdain charts.”
She recently donated her tour proceeds
For her part, Eilish has put her money where her mouth is. At the Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator Awards, Stephen Colbert announced that Eilish would be donating proceeds from her recent tour.
“This is extraordinary,” Colbert said, per CNN. “Billie Eilish will be donating proceeds from her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour to support organizations, projects, and voices dedicated to food equity, client justice, reducing carbon pollution and combating the climate crisis. That donation, ladies and gentlemen, is $11.5 million. That’s wonderful. Billie, on behalf of humans, thank you very much.”
Following this announcement, Eilish addressed the audience. Most people in the crowd were very wealthy.
“We’re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark, and people need empathy and help more than kind of ever, especially in our country,” she said. “I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it. Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me.”
She specifically told billionaires to give away more of their money.
