What did Elon Musk say about Humza Yousaf? X owner attacks Scotland’s minister over controversial 2020 speech

Elon Musk, the South African business magnate and investor, called Humza Yousaf racist after a clip from the First Minister of Scotland's speech delivered in 2020 resurfaced on X, formerly Twitter.

The CEO and chief technology officer of SpaceX left a comment on a tweet from the user who shared Yousaf's clip. Elon Musk said,

"What a blatant racist!"

The 45-second clip posted on October 26, 2023, showed the Scottish politician highlighting that the people he dealt with daily in his portfolio were all "white," as per Sky News. Yousaf since clapped back at Musk for his comment with a GIF on X.

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Elon Musk calls Humza Yousaf racist after a resurfaced video from 2020 goes viral

On October 26, 2023, an account with the username End Wokeness posted a video of Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first ethnic minority first minister, from May 2020. The then Justice Secretary listed examples showing the lack of non-white people in senior positions. The tweet was posted with a caption,

"Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf openly despises white people. Why would Scotland’s Parliament and King select a guy who hates almost 100% of the country?"

His critics and far-right nativist groups have often used the footage to claim he’s bigoted. Elon Musk also called him a "blatant racist" a day after the clip resurfaced on the internet. In reality, the excerpt was edited from a broader statement and used as a conclusion reposted by critics of Yousaf’s government.

In the original clip, Yousaf was speaking to Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) on a motion in support of anti-racist activism after the death of George Floyd while discussing the racism he had experienced since being elected. He told the chamber,

"Some people have been surprised or taken aback by my mention on my social media that at 99% of the meetings that I go to, I am the only non-white person in the room. Why are we so surprised when the most senior positions in Scotland are filled almost exclusively by people who are white?"

Humza Yousaf then listed all the senior judicial, policing, and legal posts in his justice portfolio that white people held. He explained that the same could be found in health, another portfolio he had, before adding,

"Almost every trade union in the country is headed by people who are white people. In the Scottish government, every director general is white. Every chair of every public body is white. That is not good enough."

Elon Musk's comment has since had 1.2 million views, and the original video has garnered the attention of eight million X users.

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Humza Yousaf responds to Elon Musk

A few hours after Elon Musk took a jab at Yousaf, he replied to the X owner with a witty GIF. The short clip, posted on the morning of October 27, had the caption, "Racists foaming at the mouth at my very existence" and "Me:" directing people to a GIF showing the Scottish Asian shopkeeper character Navid dancing in the TV comedy Still Game, as per The Sun.

The clip shows the character dancing while casually putting in groceries, seemingly indicating that Yousaf was unbothered by the comments. He did not mention Elon Musk by name. According to the Guardian, a spokesperson of Yousaf talked about his situation with Musk, saying,

"The first minister has been on the receiving end of racist hate, abuse, and death threats his entire life, and has stood firm against hatred and bigotry, of any kind, throughout. Sadly, much of the racist abuse and threats of violence the first minister faces are directed his way on X."

They reminded Musk that he should "use his position to tackle racism and hatred that goes unchecked on the social media platform he owns."

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Elon Musk has not responded to the criticism he has received for the comment about Humza Yousaf.