Elon Musk’s 'race' card: Meet my Indian family
Elon Musk is defending himself against accusations of racism by highlighting his diverse family and workforce. Critics argue that these personal associations do not address concerns regarding his public rhetoric on immigration and far-right narratives.
Why it matters
The discourse highlights the ongoing tension between public figures' personal lives and their influence on political polarization and social discourse.
TOI correspondent from Washington: Trillionaire Elon Musk is asserting that he cannot be racist because his partner is half Indian and that one of their sons is named after Indian-American Nobel laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The curious defense comes even as critics argue that his repeated public statements on race and immigration continue to amplify toxic far-right narratives and misinformation. "My partner is half Indian, and I have four children with her. One of them was named after a famous Indian physicist. So I would say I'm not racist,” Musk said in an interview to the Economist, referring to his partner Shivon Zillis, a Canadian-Indian tech executive whose mother was born in India. The son he referred to, Strider Sekhar Sirius, takes his middle name after astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
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