Elon Musk claims he faces 'significant risk' of assassination in Twitter Q&A session

The world’s richest man and Tesla CEO Elon Musk stirred a storm when he took over the social media networking site Twitter. What followed was a series of erratic decisions to revamp the much-loved microblogging site. The policy changes and mass layoffs introduced by Musk have left many unhappy. Amidst all the criticism the Space X CEO claimed that the risk of his assassination is quite significant.

On Saturday, the new Twitter head Elon Musk was part of a 2-hour long Q&A session on Twitter spaces where he claimed that he will not be doing any “open-air car parades,” since his risk of assassination is quite significant. Musk told his listeners, “Frankly the risk of something bad happening to me, or even literally being shot, is quite significant.” Claiming that “it’s not hard to kill somebody”, he added, “hopefully they don’t, and fate smiles upon the situation with me and it does not happen. There’s definitely some risk there.”

The Tesla CEO has involved himself in numerous turbulent issues. From Hunter Biden’s laptop to the Russia-Ukraine war, Musk’s involvement in these poignant issues makes him a target of many. Here’s a list of all the deep water issues Musk is involved:

The Hunter Biden Saga 

Musk’s recent crusade to ensure free speech on Twitter became a matter of worry for the Biden Family. On Friday, Musk published a series of tweets, disclosing internal documents of how Twitter handled the stories about US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden in 2020. Musk touched upon the contentious decisions by the company to restrict users from tweeting about it. 

In 2020, Twitter restricted a New York Post report that quoted materials that the news agency alleged were from Hunter Biden’s Laptop. New York Post reported that Hunter Biden Introduced his father, Joe Biden, the then Vice President to top Ukrainian officials. The alleged meeting occurred less than a year before it was alleged that the then-US Vice President was involved in corrupt activities relating to the employment of Hunter Biden in a Ukrainian gas company. Musk touched upon the issue during his Q&A session when he said, “there appears to have been a double standard where Democrats were not censored and left causes were not censored but right causes and Republicans were.”

Starlink: An invaluable component in the Russia-Ukraine war

The Tesla CEO has played a very significant role in the Russia-Ukraine War. Elon Musk’s Starlink, a network of more than 2,000 satellites orbiting the earth was activated across Ukraine in late February, following the commencement of the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territories. Starlink’s presence not only provided help on the combat front but also contributed to restoring energy and communication infrastructure targeted by Russia. 

However, Musk’s invaluable support to the Ukrainian bloc was not free from challenges. In March Musk warned that Starlink's broadband system has the potential to be targeted in Ukraine. Musk in his tweet claimed that since Starlink is the only, “non-Russian communication system” in the region, the chance of it getting targeted was extremely high. In October, the Tesla CEO made another aggressive stance claiming, that he will “just keep funding Ukraine government for free.” Musk’s continuous involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war grabbed a lot of eyeballs from people all around the world.

Space X, a private entity competing with big govt organizations

The American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and satellite communication company Space X emerged as one of the biggest players in the game of space exploration which was earlier played by government-funded players. The company that was founded in 2002 not only made a name of its own but also opened gates for other private entities like Bezo’s Blue Origin and Branson’s Virgin Galactic. 

When Space X entered the race of Space exploration it managed to make a lot of enemies. In 2015, The US Air Force announced that it certified Space X to launch national security payloads, ending the monopoly held by Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, United Launch Alliance. Not only this, the space manufacturing organisation and US Pentagon have been on opposite ends over many issues in the past. Although Musk’s initiative to privatize space exploration was indeed visionary, the Tesla CEO managed to make numerous enemies along the way. 

Musk's support for antisemite American rapper Kanye West disappointed many

Throughout his process of taking over the firm, Twitter CEO made his stance clear on free speech. The Tesla CEO is a self-proclaimed, “free speech absolutist” and has made a case for his endeavours time and again. The new Twitter came into the fire when he reinstated the accounts of former president Donald Trump and American rapper Kanye West. However, Musk had to re-suspend West’s account after the American rapper made numerous anti-semitic complaints. Musk's initial decision to reinstate Rapper Kanye West's account made many furious since the American rapper is known for the anti-Semitic and racist comments he made in the past. 

The Twitter CEO has managed to get himself involved in numerous fiery matters throughout his career. Hence, his recent assertion is not far-fetched.