British broadcaster Piers Morgan shared his thoughts after Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire. On Friday, SpaceX debuted on Nasdaq following an oversubscribed IPO. The company’s stock opened at $150, pushing Musk’s net worth above $1 trillion. The feat, which no one had achieved before, brought Elon Musk into headlines, with people sharing mixed reactions to his trillionaire status.
On Saturday, Piers Morgan congratulated Elon Musk in an X post while taking a shot at the “bitter resentment” directed at the SpaceX founder.
“Amid all the predictable seething jealousy and bitter resentment to this news, I’d like to congratulate @elonmusk on an astounding achievement. He’s got there by being the most driven, creative, hard-working and ambitious business genius in history. Salut, Elon!” Morgan wrote.
After Morgan praised Musk, British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan took a swipe at him and called his post “BS.” Reacting to Morgan’s tweet, Hasan wrote:
“I know you’re trying to get an interview with him, Piers, but come on! That’s BS.”
Piers Morgan responded and asked Mehdi Hasan, “Which part of it is BS?” Hasan responded and countered Morgan’s description of Musk as “hard-working,” citing the Tesla CEO’s active presence on X.
“Well, most hardworking business man in history for a start. Not only is that impossible to prove but as @hasanthehun [Hasan Piker] pointed out earlier, he’s always tweeting on this site so the idea he is always working is demonstrable BS,” Hasan posted.
Piers Morgan, in his reply, pointed out that Elon Musk owns the social media platform. He said that every time Musk uses the platform, “he is working.”
Piers Morgan and Mehdi Hasan continue sparring over Elon Musk’s wealth
After Morgan dubbed Musk’s constant social media usage as work, Mehdi Hasan insinuated that the trillionare incite violence on X.
“Or inciting violence. If you call that ‘working’. Not sure how you can have so much contempt for Tommy Robinson while also praising the guy funding and amplifying him,” Hasan tweeted in response.
Piers Morgan, in his response, questioned Mehdi Hasan about why he himself uses Musk’s platform.
“Why do you constantly use Elon’s platform if you object to him funding and amplifying things/people you don’t like?” Morgan posted.
Mehdi Hasan responded in a tweet and said he was on X before Musk took over the platform. He stressed that, as a journalist, it is a requirement to be on the platform. Further in the post, he again pointed to his earlier question to Morgan about why he opposes far-right activist Tommy Robinson but supports Elon Musk, who once funded Robinson’s defense. Piers Morgan replied:
“Because unlike you, I am able to see, and acknowledge, the good and bad in people like Musk, Trump etc.”
Elon Musk’s trillionaire status has stirred a debate around the income gap on the internet. Politicians such as AOC, Elizabeth Warren, Zohran Mamdani, and others have called for a wealth tax after Musk became a trillionaire. On the other hand, many people celebrated his success. As of this writing, Musk’s net worth stands at $1.1 trillion, per Forbes’ real-time billionaires list.
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Edited by Shatakshi Gupta