Elon Musk calls for exile of anyone who ‘doesn’t love’ America

Elon Musk has declared that Americans who do not love their country are traitors who should be exiled, escalating a Fourth of July exchange on his social media platform.

The exchange began when Spencer Pratt, the reality television personality eliminated from the Los Angeles mayoral race, posted “It’s OK to love America” on X. Pratt built his campaign on Trump-style messaging and public frustration over the response to last year’s wildfires, which destroyed his family’s Palisades home. He had vowed to leave the city if voters rejected him.

Musk commented the following day, writing, “Not merely ‘ok.’ Anyone who doesn’t love America is a traitor and beneath contempt. Those who don’t love America, those who are disloyal should be exiled immediately.” His remarks came a day after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the cost-cutting effort he oversaw early in the Trump administration, formally shut down.

Pratt, a registered Republican, fell short in the officially nonpartisan primary and lost the second general-election slot to City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who advances to face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Raman had trailed on election night before pulling ahead as late mail ballots favored Democrats. As we previously reported, Bass led with 34.32% of the vote, followed by Raman at 28.98% and Pratt at 25.51%.

Musk vocally promoted Pratt online, though he does not appear as a donor in the candidate’s campaign finance filings. However, other tech figures including Google co-founder Sergey Brin contributed to his campaign. After the June 2 primary, Musk amplified unsubstantiated posts questioning the count and alleging Democratic fraud, including one claiming Pratt received no votes in an overnight ballot drop, which a Department of Justice statement had already refuted.

Musk’s framing of loyalty and belonging is fraught for Asian Americans, who have long faced “perpetual foreigner” assumptions that cast them as outsiders regardless of citizenship. Linking love of country to who belongs recalls episodes such as the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, whose loyalty was openly questioned. The comments also come from a figure whose past conduct, including a widely condemned gesture at a 2025 Trump inauguration event, has unsettled marginalized groups. Finally, it is worth noting that Musk himself is an immigrant.

The Los Angeles race sharpens those stakes. Raman, who is Indian American, would become the first Asian American to lead the city if she defeats Bass in November. This would be a milestone for a community with deep roots in Los Angeles civic and economic life. Her rise has also drawn comparisons to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another Indian American progressive.