Former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has accused Elon Musk of accessing his private messages as part of a campaign to damage his reputation. Yousaf alleges that Musk scrutinizes the confidential communications of individuals perceived as threats. The former leader of the left-separatist Scottish National Party (SNP) has expressed certainty that Musk, the owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), is racist.
The feud between Yousaf and Musk dates back to Yousaf’s tenure as Scotland’s First Minister—roughly equivalent to a U.S. state governor. With Musk recently appointed by U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump to head a department aimed at increasing government efficiency, tensions have escalated. During recent unrest in England and Northern Ireland, Yousaf labeled Musk a “race baiter” and one of the “most dangerous men on the planet.” In response, Musk called Yousaf “super racist against white people” and challenged him to take legal action if he disagreed, suggesting that any such process would reveal damaging private messages.
“Legal discovery will show that however big a racist he’s been in public communications, he is vastly worse in private communications,” Musk said.
Yousaf believes Musk’s remarks are intended to intimidate, asserting on Tortoise Media’s ‘Elon’s Spies’ podcast that Musk has a team dedicated to gathering information to tarnish his reputation.
The podcast noted that Musk denies accessing private messages on X. Yousaf remains concerned about the security of private conversations on the platform and questions the safety of such communications. He stated Musk’s threat to release damaging information reinforced his view of Musk as a dangerous figure.
On its website, X emphasizes, “…the standard should be, if someone puts a gun to our heads, we still can’t access your messages.”
Image via Scottish Government.
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