Billionaire tech executive Elon Musk shot back at the United Auto Works (UAW) on Tuesday after the union filed labor charges against him and former President Donald Trump.
During the Monday evening discussion on X Spaces, Trump called Musk “the greatest cutter” and touted him as someone who fires employees going on strike. Musk laughed and responded, “Yeah,” as Trump spoke.
Although he declined to mention a specific company, CNBC reported that Trump had been referring to a time when Musk fired a great deal of the staff at Twitter, the social media platform he purchased in 2022 and rebranded as X.
The UAW, in response to the exchange, announced that it had filed federal labor charges against Musk and Trump for allegedly making illegal attempts to threaten and intimidate workers engaging in protected activity.
CNN noted that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would investigate the labor union’s charges and could help settle the case if wrongdoing is found, and might even sue Trump and Musk on behalf of UAW.
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On X, remarking on a post about the labor charges and featuring a photo of UAW President Shawn Fain, Musk suggested the union boss may end up incarcerated for criminal activity.
“The last two UAW presidents went to prison for bribery & corruption and, based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!” Musk quipped.
The last two UAW presidents went to prison for bribery & corruption and, based on recent news, it looks like this guy will join them!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
Gary Jones and Dennis Williams are two former UAW presidents who received prison time for a corruption scheme; however, they are not Fain’s direct predecessors in leading the union.
The UAW recently endorsed Trump’s rival in the 2024 race, Vice President Kamala Harris. Earlier this year, Trump said Fain should be fired and insisted that “every single” auto worker should be voting for him.
Musk, whose other companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have clashed with the NLRB and Big Labor, endorsed Trump last month after the former president survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The comment about firing employees came up during the X Spaces talk on Monday, right after Trump said he would “love” for Musk to help out with a prospective Government Efficiency Commission to cut wasteful spending.
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