A former Trump adviser tells an Italian newspaper that the Tesla CEO wants to establish 'techno-feudalism around the world'.
Former adviser to US President Donald Trump Steve Bannon has promised to do so Elon Musk “Ending” at the White House, in the latest escalation of tensions within the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.
In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Bannon said that he made it his mission to ensure that Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, does not have access to Trump and is treated “like any other person”.
“He is a very bad man, a very bad man. I made it my mission to bring this man down. In the past, because they invested, I was ready to tolerate it – I'm not ready to put up with it anymore,” Bannon told Corriere della Sera newspaper, which was also published over the weekend by Bannon's former site Breitbart News. .
Bannon also suggested that Musk, a US-born South African, should “return” to his birthplace after the billionaire publicly defended his spending spree. H-1B visa program recruiting the best foreign technology talent.
“Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people in the world, white South Africans, commenting on what's going on in the United States?”
Bannon's outpouring comes amid Trump's support of foreign workers in Silicon Valley.
Divisions began to emerge last month after Trump's decision to name Indian-American capitalist Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on manufacturing strategy sparked the right-wing and nationalist MAGA group, who interpreted the appointment as an endorsement of H-1B visas. .
Musk, who had an H-1B visa before becoming a US citizen, criticized foreign workers in Silicon Valley, promising to “go to war on this issue” to an extent “you will not understand”.
Although he took steps to stop the issuance of H-1B visas during his first term, Trump agreed with Musk's comments, calling the visas a “good program”.
In his newspaper interview, Bannon, who worked as a senior White House strategist during Trump's first term, accused Musk of having “the immaturity of a boy” and trying to establish “techno-feudalism around the world”.
“We've seen the point of Elon, his meddling, his lack of understanding of reality, and, frankly, self-help, his goal is to become a trillionaire. That's his goal,” he said.
“He will do anything to ensure that any of his companies are protected or have good sales or make more money. His accumulation of wealth, and then – through wealth – power: that is his main focus. The working people of America in this country will not tolerate it. .”
Musk, who is a frequent commentator on his website X, has not publicly responded to Bannon's comments.
Ranked as the world's richest man with a net worth of over $400bn, Musk has been one of Trump's strongest and most influential allies since publicly endorsing the Republican Party after the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump has also included the tech billionaire in meetings with lawmakers and foreign leaders, asking him to co-head the so-called Department of Public Works with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.