Maye Musk, Elon Musk’s mother, has come under fire for a racist comment she shared on X, where she singled out the ethnicity of New York Times journalist, Ryan Mac.
In her post, now deleted, she criticized the Vietnamese American reporter and his anticipated New York Times article on Elon Musk.
Maye’s post, shared on November 5, read: “I’ve heard there is going to be an Elon hit piece by @RMac18 in the @nytimes tomorrow. Sadly, Ryan is an American Vietnamese reporter. My book is a bestseller in Vietnam. I don’t think my readers will believe the article if it is hateful and/or dishonest.”
Many viewed her decision to mention Mac’s ethnicity as inappropriate and irrelevant to her concerns about the article’s content, with critics accusing her of promoting racial stereotypes and undermining Mac’s professionalism.
Following the backlash, NBC News reporter Tyler Kingkade responded on X.
“For the record, @RMac18 was born and raised in California. Not that it matters. Calling out a reporter for their ethnic heritage is never appropriate.”
Mac responded lightly to Maye’s comments, jokingly updating his bio on X to “american vietnamese.”
Despite the widespread criticism, Maye defended her stance in a follow-up post, accusing The New York Times of spreading lies about her son for over 15 years. She went on to say, “Hope Ryan is paid well,” doubling down on her bias.
Mac, an award-winning journalist known for his investigative coverage of tech titans, has covered Musk’s exploits since he purchased Twitter, now X, in 2022. According to the Daily Mail, his reports have intensified since Musk publicly endorsed Donald Trump.
Maye’s post arrives in the heated political climate, with her son spending election night alongside Trump, who has since been declared victorious.
Musk, an advocate for Trump throughout his presidential campaign, has financially backed the Republican Party and even appeared at several Trump rallies. Trump, in turn, lauded the Tesla CEO as a “star” of the GOP, reports the Independent.
The Daily Mail further highlights Musk’s support for Trump, citing a series of sweepstakes held in swing states that offered people a chance to win 1 million dollars, contingent on registering to vote and signing a pro-Trump petition.
Federal law bars financial incentives for voter registration, leading to the Justice Department cautioning Musk and his America PAC about the legality of these campaign strategies.
Maye’s comments have fueled ongoing debates on X about race, media and politics, sparking widespread calls for increased accountability among those with significant influence.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We are supported through donations and such charitable organizations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This holiday season, double your impact by making a tax-deductible donation to Asian American Media Inc and AsAmNews. Less than $5,000 remains in matching grant funds. Donate today to double your impact and bring us closer to our goal of $38,000 by year-end.
Please also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.
It’s really sad that you would publish an article like this, twisting Elon’s words to intentionally alter the perception, when you should have simply quoted him. Now you whole article is suspect as well as your company. Journalism has hit a new low!
Elon’s words are in this article?
The author said that Elon was “paying 1 million dollars for signing a pro-Trump petition”, but the petition didn’t mention Trump. It was simply to support the first and second amendment of the US Constitution! Very misleading, as I’m sure it was intended to be.