--- title: "Elon Musk’s “Free Speech” Social Network Mocked by Employee Who Got Fired for Saying Things Tesla Didn’t Like" description: "It's all fun and free speech until someone gets hurt — especially if that someone is the notoriously mercurial Elon Musk." date: "2022-03-28" modified: "2022-03-28" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-social-network-mocked" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "free speech" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk’s “Free Speech” Social Network Mocked by Employee Who Got Fired for Saying Things Tesla Didn’t Like ![It's all fun and free speech until someone gets hurt — especially if that someone is the notoriously mercurial Elon Musk.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Speech It's all fun and free speech until someone gets hurt — especially if that someone is Elon Musk. After tweeting that he's "[giving serious thought]()" to starting his own social network because Twitter fails "[to adhere to free speech principles]()" and "[fundamentally undermines democracy]()," the world's richest man was immediately called out for not practicing what he preaches. Former Tesla employee John Bernal — who [was fired earlier in March]() after he posted a video to his YouTube channel, AI Addict, that was critical of the company's full self-driving (FSD) software — [quipped that Musk]() "is a free speech absolutist… unless it involves safety concerns." In a video he posted before being fired, Bernal demonstrated that Tesla's beta FSD software had serious issues, including randomly disengaging while it was driving, forcing him to scramble to take back control of the vehicle. In a [later update](), the former Tesla employee said he "was fired from Tesla in February with my YouTube being cited as the reason why." ## Chilling Effect As [*Business Insider* notes](), Bernal isn't the only person whose speech Musk has arguably chilled. In 2018, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO reportedly [found the identity of a then-anonymous blogger]() who posted something criticizing the electric car company's stock profile and then contacted their employer with threats of a lawsuit. In [a farewell post](), the blogger wrote that they had deactivated their Twitter and would no longer write about Tesla. The blogger added that their friend had spoken by phone to Musk, who intimated that if Montana Skeptic "continued to write, he would engage counsel and sue." Just this month, Musk insisted that he is "[a free speech absolutist]()," but as Bernal and others have noted, his ideals don't always match up to his actions. "Elon Musk is not Tony Stark," [one user wrote](). "Elon Musk is Lex Luther." **READ MORE:** [Despite calling himself a 'free speech absolutist,' Elon Musk has a history of retaliation against employees and critics]() \[*Business Insider**\]* **More on Musk:** *[Elon Musk Says Sometimes He Feels Lonely]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()