*Elon Musk is the first guest on Don Lemon’s new web-based show on YouTube, which debuted Monday. They sparred over the billionaire’s stance on aviation-industry DEI during the conversation.
Business Insider reports that in recent months, Musk has publicly opposed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts within private companies. He continues to assert that non-white and non-male pilots are receiving preferential treatment, citing responses on X to reinforce his argument.
“There’s no evidence that standards are being lowered when it comes to the airline industry,” Lemon said in response during their conversation.
Musk then told Lemon to “watch the replies” on his social media for evidence.
“Replies on social media or on Twitter are not necessarily fact and evidence,” Lemon said.
Musk emphasized that responses on X (formerly Twitter) provided evidence of “significant cases where standards are lowered” for pilots of color and female pilots.
Earlier this year, Musk called fellow billionaire Mark Cuban a “racist” in a series of tweets on X/Twitter, for Cuban’s public support of DEI programs.
As Forbes reported, Musk said Cuban’s approval of DEI in the workforce is due to his “ridiculous overcompensation regarding racism” and “if mental gymnastics were an Olympic sport, Mark Cuban would be a perfect 10.”
The Tesla CEO also proposed a UFC-style cage match between himself and Cuban.
“Discrimination on the basis of race, which DEI does, is literally the definition of racism,” Musk, the owner of X, noted on the platform.
In a series of tweets, Cuban explained that diversity includes expanding “the possible pool of candidates as widely as you can. Once you have identified the candidates, you HIRE THE PERSON YOU BELIEVE IS THE BEST.”
Cuban said, “DEI does not mean you dont hire on merit. Of course you hire based on merit.”
“DEI also does not mean you can’t fire someone if you made a mistake,” he added.
“I wrote this on @x because I knew very well that almost everyone on here would disagree with me,” Cuban tweeted.
READ MORE: Don Lemon Suggests Elon Musk Isn’t Accustomed to Being Held Accountable by Black People | Video
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