Tech billionaire Elon Musk continued his recent trend of incendiary musings Friday morning when he shared a post comparing diversity, equity and inclusion programs to laws designed to disenfranchise Black Americans. “DEI is racism and sexism,” wrote Musk, replying to a post on X — the social media platform he owns — that read “Jim Crow and DEI.” Elon Musk is seen in the U.S. Capitol after a meeting with Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., while on the Hill to talk about President-elect Donald Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” on Thursday, December 5, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) While the comparison is, at best, wildly out of proportion, Musk’s ongoing assault on DEI likely won him some points from the MAGA base. Many of Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters have lashed out against Musk for supporting H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for specialty jobs, primarily in the tech sector. Musk originally came to America on a H-1B visa. Whether his views reflect an effort of political appeasement or perhaps something darker is up for debate. But there’s no denying the Tesla founder’s posts on X have become increasingly strident and polarizing. He recently endorsed AfD, a controversial neo-Nazi political party in Germany, and, just a few days, called for the release of far-right provocateur Tommy Robinson from a British jail. DEI is racism and sexism https://t.co/v16hAVciQD— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2025 Robinson is serving an 18-month jail sentence for contempt of court after posting a video libeling a Syrian refugee teenager as a violent thug.  Musk also subscribes to a pro-apartheid “X” account, which regularly disparages South Africa’s Black population while calling for power to be returned to whites. Since purchasing X, then known as Twitter, Musk has reinstated a slew of accounts that push hate, claiming to be defenders of free speech. His most recent broadside against DEI led some people to social media to remind readers about a bevy of racial discrimination lawsuits that have been filed against Tesla. In one federal suit, a former Black contractor was awarded $137 million from the carmaker. The plaintiff, Owen Diaz, who worked at Tesla’s factory in Fremont, California, from 2015 to 2016, said he and other contractors were routinely called the N-word by Tesla employees. He claimed he was told to “go back to Africa” and that employees drew racist and derogatory pictures and left them around the factory. Working for Tesla “was like a scene straight out of Jim Crow,” Diaz said. Meanwhile, a California state judge has ruled that nearly 6,000 Black factory workers can sue Tesla as a group for allegedly failing to address racial discrimination and harassment. And the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has charged Tesla continues to violate federal law in its tolerance of harassment of Black workers. Musk’s latest post about DEI drew some condemnation from readers who say the world’s richest man is blind to his privilege. “I mean, I am not surprised,” wrote one. “Even your fellow Whites in South Africa who benefited from Apartheid believe that Broadbased Black Economic Empower and Transformation are “racist” ideas. If you are used to privilege, equality and equity feels like oppression. RACISTS!” Another X user asked, “Weren’t you born in a country that implemented The Apartheid? You and your family were NOT native South Africans however you all benefited from segregation and mistreatment of the indigenous people in South Africa who are Black….” The post shared by Musk, equating DEI and Jim Crow, has received a whopping 18.8 million views. It was written by X user @CynicalPublius, who says he’s “a white guy married to a Black woman for over 30 years.” After detailing some of the horrors of Jim Crow, he shared his experience at his firm’s annual DEI training seminar. “I had to sit there silently while I was informed that I had earned none of the things that I earned through my own blood, sweat and tears; that I was inherently and unchangeably inferior because of the color of my skin and my genitalia; that all that I owned and am were only there due to “privilege” and the “patriarchy”; and that if I spoke out against any of this, it only proved my racism and my ignorance as to my own privilege,” he wrote. While acknowledging his analogy was “far from perfect,” he continued trying to make the point. “I was supposed to just sit there silently and “know my place,” he said. “This was an INDIGNITY. I knew it, they knew it, and if I were to speak up—if I were to be “uppity”—a real potential existed that significant economic and social harm would come crashing down on me. So because I love my family, I kept my mouth shut. I sat silently and steamed. My soul corroded a little bit that day.” He fails to mention that Jim Crow laws would’ve prohibited his marriage to a Black woman. It’s safe to assume his voting rights haven’t been restricted, nor is it likely he’s ever been forbidden from using public accommodations. ‘Racist!’ : Elon Musk Fully Embraces White Victimhood, Endorses Post Comparing DEI to Jim Crow Sparking Backlash