--- title: "Elon Musk Deletes Sexist Tweets" description: "Several Musk's tweets appear to have crossed a line even for him — because, after an outcry, he deleted them, in a rare reversal for Musk." date: "2021-10-31" modified: "2021-10-31" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-deletes-tweets" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "sexism" - "SpaceX" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Deletes Sexist Tweets ![Several Musk's tweets appear to have crossed a line even for him — because, after an outcry, he deleted them, in a rare reversal for Musk.]() *BERLIN, GERMANY DECEMBER 01: SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer Award 2020 on December 01, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Pass/Fail On Friday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk [tweeted an idea]() for a new university with a vulgar name. It was a crude outburst, even by the billionaire's [often-childish standards](), but several of his followup tweets appear to have crossed a line even for him or his handlers — because, after an outcry, [he deleted them](), in a rare reversal for the decorum-shredding Musk. ## Off Limits The [more disturbing of the since-deleted tweets]() implied in objectifying terms that at Musk's new university, degrees would be awarded based on women's physical characteristics. "That’s a disgrace," read one reply. Others were disturbed by the implications of Musk's original joke as well. "I was trying to put my finger on why this makes my skin crawl," [wrote Zoë Ayres](), a scientist and activist. "Perhaps it's because it's by one of the most powerful men in the world. Perhaps it's due to how rife sexual harassment is in academia. Perhaps it's because if I'm bothered by it, it'll be met with 'it's just a joke.'" ## What Happened? Musk-world is opaque. It's possible that Musk thought better of his tweets on his own, or after seeing the backlash to them online. But it's also possible that handlers at Tesla, SpaceX or elsewhere had to intervene, telling him that he was endangering those business interests by alienating women. Regardless, Musk seems to have realized, on some level, that he'd gone too far. "Used to be that u only had 140 characters to dig ur own grave," he wrote in [yet another now-deleted tweet](). **READ MORE:** [With sexist jokes, Elon Musk's tweets sink to a new low]() \[*Mashable*\] **More on Elon Musk:** *[Elon Musk Says He Wants to Use Wealth to Get Humans to Mars, Not Pay Taxes]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()