Is Elon Musk Jewish? The CEO Has Been Accused of Antisemitism on X

The Gist:

• Elon Musk is the Chief Executive Officer of both SpaceX and Tesla, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), among other ventures, and is the wealthiest person in the world according to Forbes.
• Advertisers who left X en masse following the rise of antisemitic content and rhetoric were met with a concise, stern, profane clap-back from Musk, per Reuters.
• Musk has been criticized for affirming and supporting antisemitic rhetoric that claims Jewish communities push hatred against white people, per CNN.

Elon Musk has drawn the ire of swaths of people for many controversial opinions, questionable environmental ideas, and for making major changes to Twitter.

He has also made some contentious seesawed between both supporting antisemitic content and propaganda, while also apologizing for such behavior. This conduct has left many wondering where Musk stands in support of the Jewish faith — and if he, himself, is Jewish.

Keep reading for everything we know about Musk's religion and ties to Judaism.

Elon Musk may be the bearer of a Hebrew first name with origins dating back to the Old Testament, as noted by The Bump, but Musk is not Jewish.

Musk, a South Africa native, is alleged to have grown up with Jewish friends, per the country's Jewish Report publication. As the Forward's culture reporter PJ Grisar notes, Musk does not identify as Jewish, and his parents are South African and Canadian.

So, then: why might some people believe Elon Musk to be Jewish? First, Musk hails from South Africa, which is the part of Africa with the biggest Jewish population, per the Forward.

In September 2023, Musk claimed that his identity as "aspirationally Jewish" prevents him from holding antisemitic beliefs, per Yahoo! Finance. The article, citing Musk's interview with Ben Shapiro, mentions that Musk attended a Jewish a Hebrew preschool and he wondered if, "maybe somewhere" he is "genetically Jewish" or not.

Musk later asserted in the interview that, upon reflecting on having more Jewish friends than non-Jewish friends, he considered himself to be "Jewish basically."

Furthermore, Musk's political allies have sidestepped questions and refused to condemn Musk's support of antisemitic rhetoric, per USA Today, which has only fueled conspiracy theories that Musk is Jewish due in part to his massive wealth, per The Daily Mail.

Musk's affirmation of a November 2023 conspiracy theory on X (formerly Twitter) further fueled speculation of his anti-Jewish views, per CNN. Specifically, he endorsed a tweet that accused Jewish communities of "dialectical hatred against whites," as reported by The Guardian.

“You have said the actual truth,” Musk replied. This behavior earned the scorn from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the White House, and others, according to CNN.

Amid the backlash, Musk doubled down on his views, claiming the ADL "unjustly attacks the majority of the West," per CNBC. Musk then continued the tirade on his X profile, lumping the ADL with other unnamed groups who he believes pushes "anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism."

Musk has in the past threatened to sue the ADL over defamation, per CNBC.

In late November 2023, Musk visited Israel, per the Associated Press. During his trip, he met with President Isaac Herzog, and accompanied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Kfar Azza kibbutz, the site of the October 2023 massacre at the hands of Hamas.

Musk previously met with Prime Minister Netanyahu in California in September 2023, per the AP, to discuss, among other things, the rise of antisemitic content on X and artificial intelligence.

Musk had made comments claiming that he does not worship anything, but also that he is Christian.

In a May 2023 interview with The Babylon Bee, Musk stated that he agrees with "the teachings of Jesus." During the interview, Musk agreed to be "saved", and mentioned several tenets of the faith with which he agrees.

That said, The Babylon Bee is a satire website that satirizes Christianity and politics; the interview contained plenty of serious moments amidst the jokes, Musk's comments on Christianity seemed to be largely serious.

Additionally, The Christian Post reported in December 2022 that Musk claimed on social media that he is accepting of his fate if it means he is going to hell, and the publication cited his past stance that he doesn't worship anything.