Fortnite-maker Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has publicly thrown his weight behind Elon Musk’s claims that the nationwide protests against Tesla are part of a coordinated effort backed by billionaire donors, including George Soros and LinkedIn co-founder, former executive chairman of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman and others.
Responding to Musk’s post on X (formerly Twitter) that suggested Soros, Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman and Leah Hunt-Hendrix were behind the anti-Tesla demonstrations, Sweeney wrote “Disgusting,” appearing to agree with Musk’s characterisation of the situation.
Tim Sweeney connects Tesla protests with Epic Games’ legal battle against Google, Apple
When questioned about his stance, Sweeney defended his position by referencing his experience with Epic Games’ legal battle against the Big Tech – a typical reference to the five US tech companies: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft.
“Elon made a simple statement of fact and I have firsthand experience with Big Tech companies paying dozens of lobbyists and front groups to smear my company while concealing or misrepresenting their allegiance to their paymasters. It needs to stop,” he said.
“Megacorps and plutocrats are free to have their dumb opinions and to express them. That’s their right. The problem here is the multibillion dollar web of deception they fund to misrepresent their dumb ideas as organic or popular movements when they are just the opposite,” he added.
“And then you have the violent fringe around such astroturfing campaigns which increasingly appears to be an intended feature, not a bug,” Sweeney said.
Why there are protests against Elon Musk’s Tesla
The protests against Tesla have been growing across multiple countries, reflecting Musk’s involvement in political activities. These demonstrations have occurred at Tesla showrooms and facilities in various locations.
In New York City, several protesters were arrested outside a Tesla dealership, with some chanting, “We need clean air, not another billionaire.”
Tesla owners have begun displaying bumper stickers with messages like “Bought it before we knew how awful he is” and “Stuck with Tesla, not stuck on Elon.”
