Elon Musk is no stranger to internet controversy. He has found himself in the muck of it multiple times, and this time, his comments have sparked a massive parenting debate on his thread.
Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX mogul Tweeted, “Being a mom is just as important as any career,” and within minutes, people were rushing to the comment section to be heard.
Being a Mom is just as important as any career
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2022
“Did you get another employee pregnant Elon?” one user commented, poking at the fact that he had fathered twins with an executive named Shivon Zilis.
“You have been making a lot of moms lately Elon,” another commented. On top of comments made about the mothers of Musk’s children, a sea of memes were created in the comment section as well.
Others attacked the mogul, not only for his parenting skills and several children and mothers but also for making remarks about how he runs his company. One cited an article by Business Insider that alleges that former Tesla workers had made claims that they were fired after becoming pregnant.
Musk has five children with his ex-wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson and two with his ex-girlfriend, the singer known as Grimes, and then has twins with his former executive. Overall, he has had a total of 10 children with three different mothers.
However, all jokes and personal attacks aside, was there really anything bad said in his comment? While many choose to make a joke out of it, and that’s fine and dandy, the comment seemed to come from a genuine place and sends a message that is true and often overlooked: being a mom IS an important career.
But, the comment section wasn’t all hate and anger. Some appreciated his sentiment, including podcaster Liz Wheeler. “Thank you for saying this! 100% true. What job could be more important than shepherding young souls?”
“Moms are the primary influence on who children will BE as adults. This is orders of magnitude more important than any career. It’s the honor & privilege of a lifetime to be a mom,” she said.
Another commented and said, “Being a mom of 3 is like being a CEO of a company. Or CEO of 3 companies, each one is different.”