Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
- "The Don Lemon Show" premiered with an Elon Musk interview on Monday.
- The Tesla and X owner told Lemon that society blames "a lot of things on racism."
- Musk said "we need to move on" from complaints.
Elon Musk is over hearing people complain about racism.
During a wide-ranging interview on "The Don Lemon Show" — which included Musk saying he felt upset by some of Lemon's questions — the X owner was asked about his stance on racism.
"I think being aware of inequities in society is fine, of course, but trying to make everything a race issue is divisive and corrosive to society," Musk told interviewer Don Lemon.
And according to Musk, society blames "a lot of things" on racism, and that's unfair. His proposed solution is to "treat everyone according to who they are as an individual."
"I think we should not make this a constant subject. I think we need to move on," he said.
"You cannot have a situation where someone is a self-described victim, and they just get to be that because that's how they feel," Musk said to Lemon about race and gender issues.
Though he did concur with Lemon that racism existed in an extreme capacity during the time of transatlantic slave trade, Musk said it's time to "look to the future rather than the past."
"If we keep talking about it nonstop, it'll never go away," Musk said.
When the former CNN host pressed Musk about racism's place in the 21st century, Musk asked exactly what advantages he'd been given as a white person.
"There's an ease that you have in society, that many people of color don't," Lemon, who is Black, said — to which the Tesla CEO raised an eyebrow.
Musk has been vocal about his dislike of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in the workforce. Earlier this year, he called DEI "another word for racism."
Musk's own company Tesla has faced backlash over the treatment of its Black employees over the years. In 2022, 15 Black employees sued the EV maker alleging racial harassment.
The plaintiffs said they were subjected to racial slurs, graffiti, and physical violence.
The Lemon-Musk interview, which also touched on subjects like Musk's ketamine use and his leadership of X, contained some tense moments between the two men. At one point, in response to questions from Lemon, Musk replied saying, "You are upsetting me, because the way you're phrasing questions, I think, is not cogent."
After Lemon was abruptly ousted from his position at CNN last year, Musk reached out about a partnership with X. Lemon said the platform terminated their deal hours after this interview was filmed.