Tesla Investor Claps Back After A Columnist Calls Elon Musk 'Mediocre White Man' Amid Spat With Don Lemon

Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt hit back at an op-ed that called Tesla CEO Elon Musk a “mediocre white man” amid the latter’s spat with ex-CNN presenter Don Lemon.

What Happened: On Friday, Merritt highlighted a contentious op-ed headline that seemingly downplayed Elon Musk’s accomplishments.

“Apparently, successfully launching the largest flying object ever put into space and enabling a quadriplegic to control a computer and play video games using just their thoughts is considered mediocre lol,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter while posting the headline of the op-ed.

See Also: Tesla Bull Gary Black Remains Optimistic On Cybertruck, Sees It Becoming A ‘Key Catalyst’ To 2025 Earnings

Why It Matters: The op-ed’s reference to a “mediocre white man” comes amid a backdrop of tension between Musk and Lemon. Recently, Lemon announced the termination of his partnership with Musk’s social media platform X, after an interview with Musk led to a fallout.

Following this, Musk took a jab at Lemon’s show, suggesting that it would be “just as unwatchable” on X as it was on CNN. Musk’s remarks indicated his view that Lemon intended to promote a mainstream media agenda on the platform.

The next day, Lemon responded by defending the integrity of his interview with Musk, stating it was a “free exchange of ideas” and questioning whether Musk expected only praise. He suggested that if Musk desired a one-sided conversation, he could have instead chosen to speak with media personalities like Megyn Kelly or Tucker Carlson.

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