‘Free speech absolutist’ Elon Musk wants to criminalise speech (again)

Elon Musk, if you believe him, is a ‘free speech absolutist‘. The problem, of course, is that if you believe him when he says that, you have to disbelieve him when he says anything else:

Funniest version of free speech absolutism yet https://t.co/Fkv8XbdSza

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) January 14, 2026

Free speech

First, we should note that this is the post Musk was responding to:

In 2022, 45% of high schoolers polled say they were taught that "America is built on stolen land" in class at school, and another 22% heard it from an adult there. pic.twitter.com/DfbzVAh9FP

— arctotherium (@arctotherium42) January 14, 2026

As an aside to the free speech issue, come on — of course America is built on stolen land. Is that even up for debate?

Americans are free to say that they don’t care what their ancestors did, but let’s be real; they absolutely stole it from the Indigenous populations. You’d think Musk would be sensitive to this theft given his current proclivity for seeing fraud everywhere he looks:

👉 Elon Musk claimed he found $2 Trillion in fraud. He sent ZERO recommendations to the FBI. The viral "Somali Fraud" story? ZERO new arrests.

They are literally inventing crimes to make you angry. pic.twitter.com/Z4JrSryO50

— Adam Mockler (@adammocklerr) January 2, 2026

America hasn’t stopped stealing land either, as Musk’s friend Donald Trump will tell you:

trump on Greenland: "whether they like it or not… If we don’t do it the easy way, we’ll do it the hard way."

Again, forcing himself on someone who has already said no. He's not beating those rape allegations.pic.twitter.com/9agM6al4NF

— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) January 11, 2026

Musk’s latest call for repression of speech is hardly new:

With Musk now calling for the imprisonment of teachers who say things that he doesn’t like, I think this MSNBC video of mine from nearly four years ago has held up pretty well.

He was never a supporter, let alone champion, of free speech: https://t.co/Rn6j7QcgtG

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 15, 2026

We’ve reported on Musk’s actual disdain for free speech a number of times. Most recently, we noted some of the ways he has or would like to restrict free speech:

• Using Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to prevent employees, partners, and government officials from speaking out.
• Arguing it should be illegal to call a ‘non-violent’ person a Nazi.
• Suspending left-leaning journalists and commentators on Twitter.
• Suing Media Matters over a report which covered hate speech on his platform.

Free speech for thee, Elon Musk

People are also calling Elon Musk out for not caring about free speech besides his own:

where is Bari Weiss? where is Elon Musk? where is Matt Taibbi? where are all the “free speech champions” now? were you frauds then or are you frauds now? https://t.co/n4EmtIklxR

— Peter Twinklage (@PeterTwinklage) January 14, 2026

WATCH: Woman arrested mid-interview after criticizing Trump’s Venezuela invasion.

But you won’t hear a peep from the self-anointed “free speech warriors” like Elon Musk or Bari Weiss. pic.twitter.com/G20aab0m8w

— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) January 5, 2026

Musk is so clinically turnip brained that he’s still reposting stuff like the following even as he calls for a free speech crackdown:

RFK JR: "I don't think we'd have free speech in this country if it wasn't for Elon Musk."pic.twitter.com/BvgKoFAVPN

— (news) DOGE (@DOGE__news) January 14, 2026

Elon Musk is either one of the most delusional men alive or the most dishonest. If stories about his alleged drug use are accurate, we suspect it’s the former.

Featured image via Brilliant Law