Elon Musk and Mark Cuban exchange blows over Mavericks' NBA roster: 'When can we see a short white/Asian woman on the Mavs'

A contentious discussion over U.S. diversity, equity and inclusion policies has embroiled Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. Musk supports meritocracy, whereas Cuban supports DEI. Musk began the conversation on X by writing that DEI was "just another word for racism" and "shame on anyone who uses it."

In response, Cuban wrote a series of blogs on X in which he said that effective DEI "is a goal every company should have" since diverse workforces enable employers to locate the finest candidates, bring out the best in their staff and boost output by lowering "unnecessary" stress.

Cuban also took issue with Musk's remarks, saying that he stands to gain from the demise of DEI-phobic businesses.

The discussion over the Mavericks' NBA roster started when Musk took a hilarious swipe at Cuban and the Mavericks, asking:

"Cool, so when should we expect to see a short white/Asian women on the Mavs?"

Nonetheless, several other billionaires, such as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jonathan Grey and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone and Tim Cook of Apple, have openly supported the significance of DEI policies.

Have Mark Cuban and Elon Musk had other discussions in the past?

Elon Musk and Mark Cuban have previously engaged in several public discussions and arguments. After a Twitter fight in June 2023 during which Cuban insulted Musk, the issue was eventually settled when Musk indicated that he would like to make a purchase from one of Cuban's businesses.

Elon Musk and Joe Rogan have also come under fire from Mark Cuban for their opinions on vaccinations and how they affect the atmosphere in internet media. Although they claimed to be different from conventional media, Cuban chastised them for making offensive remarks and making the online atmosphere worse.

Elon Musk purchases Mark Cuban's goods

Musk appeared to take offense at the message, replying, "Good question," to a Twitter user who questioned Cuban about why his firm doesn't sell the medication ivermectin.

Musk seemed to find Cuban's explanation of the rationale convincing enough to accept the marketing ploy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you enter the discussion, Elon Musk," Cuban posted on Twitter. "The price we were able to get was much higher than other available sources. ... Our mission is to be the low cost provider of every med we are allowed to sell. You should have your employees use us. It will save them and twitter a f*** ton of money."

That had Elon Musk saying they'll invest under Tesla and SpaceX.