A. Musk posted on X that “Instead of teaching fear of pregnancy, we should teach fear of childlessness.” Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, a Kentucky Chabad shaliach, posted a picture of his wife and seven children and replied, “I’m working on it @elonmusk. Now please make a Tesla big enough for my family.” Musk responded “That’s great to see! Tesla Robovan is in development,” leading Rabbi Litvin to post, “Thank you, sir! My family would happily be the test family for the Tesla Robovan.”
B. After Elon Musk apologized for his support of an X user’s antisemitic post, he made a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp site, where he was given a tour by Rabbi Menachem Margolin. At the end of the tour, he had only one question for Rabbi Margolin, “What can I do to help?” The Rabbi responded, saying, “Our message is always ‘Never Again.’ So for you personally, ‘never again’ give a platform to the antisemites,” to which Musk replied, “You have my promise.”
C. During the pandemic in 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered banks to help cut funding to truckers who protested Trudeau’s health policies. In support of the truckers, Elon Musk posted a picture of Adolph Hitler with the caption, “Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau.” Rabbi Aaron Gorman of the the Toronto Board of Rabbis issued a statement noting that “it is not our place to get involved in political discussions, but we will not stand idly by when the evils of Adolph Hitler and the Holocaust are diminished by petty comparisons such as this.” Musk then tweeted in response, “Okay, my bad, Trudeau is not like Hitler. Maybe just Mussolini.”
D. In 2023, Elon Musk was among the speakers at the Zeh Mizeh Satmar Business Expo at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center. The topic was “Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and the 7th Day,” focusing on how technology can be used in ways which are consistent with the Shabbat. Rabbi Yitchok Jacobowitz asked Musk for his thoughts and Musk replied, “As you know, we are developing a Tesla car which will be completely driverless. I am told that there is a question as to whether this will meet your religious requirements. But I know you have Sabbath elevators. I promise that if you work with me, there will be a Sabbath Tesla in your future.”
E. Two Chassidic businessmen invited Musk to a meeting to discuss business issues. They also invited Chabad Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, director of social media for Chabad.org and the founder of Tech Tribe, to join them and answer any questions Musk might have about Judaism. After the business portion of the meeting ended, Musk noted that this was his first personal encounter with Chassidim. Rabbi Lightstone asked if Musk had any questions, and Musk said that he had one. Referencing the men’s payos (side curls), Musk asked, “How do you curl your hair so nicely?”
