Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Celebrity chef José Andrés mocks Elon Musk over attacks on Democrats: ‘Obviously you’ve been hacked’

Other internet users were also bemused by billionaire’s recent criticism of the left

Gino Spocchia
Thursday 19 May 2022 09:22 EDT
Comments
Related video: Elon Musk says the real US president is ‘whoever controls the teleprompter’

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Elon Musk’s recent attacks on Democrats have drawn mockery from an unexpected source: celebrity chef and activist José Andrés.

Mr Musk, reportedly the world’s richest man, tweeted on Wednesday that Democrats had “become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.”

“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” Mr Musk added. “Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold.”

The comments, which came after similar remarks made by Mr Musk at a Miami technology conference on Tuesday, drew a teasing response from Mr Andrés.

“I think someone has taken over your tweeter account,” wrote Mr Andrés on Wednesday in response to Mr Musk’s tweet. “Please report, we need to build longer tables, with democrats and republicans of good will coming together to keep building our democracy!

“But to finger point Democrats for hate…well,obviously you’ve been hacked!”

Mr Musk told the All-In tech conference on Tuesday that while he had voted “overwhelmingly” for Democrats in past elections, he would not be for “this election” and that Republicans would have his vote.

“I have voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, historically,” Mr Musk said. “Like I’m not sure, I might never have voted for a Republican, just to be clear. Now this election I will”.

It was not clear whether Mr Musk was referring to this year’s midterms or the 2024 election for president, when Joe Biden is expected to stand for a second term.

The Tesla CEO accused the Democrat on Tuesday of relying heavily on a “teleprompter” and not getting “a lot done” because he “s simply too much captured by the unions, which was not the case with Obama”.

Many accused Mr Musk of hypocrisy for calling out Mr Biden’s support for unions, given that the SpaceX founder is estimated to be worth $218bn (£175bn), according to Forbes.

Others also pointed to the so-called “Big Lie” and the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol as an example of Republicans stoking “division & hate” - words he used to describe Democrats.

“One party tried to overthrow the government. The other one just wants billionaires to pay taxes and people to have healthcare,” tweeted liberal American political action committee MeidasTouch.

“You have fallen so deep into the far right algorithms that you have lost all sense of reality,” the group added. “Nobody is out to get you. They just want to be left alone.”

Mr Musk has recently put his $44bn (£35bn) takeover bid of Twitter on hold after promising to restore “free speech” and reduce left wing “bias” on the social media platform, whose CEO he sent a poo emoji this week.

The billionaire has asked the company to prove less than five per cent of its users are so-called “spam bots”, in a spat that could lead to the deal being dropped or lowered in price, analysts suggest.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in