British former racing driver Martin Brundle has slammed Elon Musk for being a "globally interfering d***."
Brundle competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1996 and is now a Sky Sports F1 commentator. On Monday he said he has been tempted to leave X (formerly Twitter), which is owned by Musk, for good.
Newsweek emailed Musk, through Tesla, and a spokesperson for Brundle for comment on Tuesday.
"I'm conflicted. I like Twitter/X and it has served F1, Sky, me, and people around me, very well for a good while. But @elonmusk is such a daily globally interfering d*** I feel the need to go somewhere else," he posted on the social media website.
This post has been viewed more than 357,000 times, with people taking to the comments to share their thoughts—and opinions are divided.
"It's not about who owns twitter or X it's about you and what you say. Like most of the other racing guys here. I don't get here political but it doesn't matter anyway as I am not important. But if you leave X it would look like you take a political choice...." former Formula 1 driver Heinz Harald Frentzen wrote.
"Martin, leave it out. I love you commentating on F1, you're a legend but don't, whatever you do, fall into the trap of taking sides in politics. You don't like Musk, I love him, we both love F1. You're not going to ruin a twenty year friendship over this, surely. I've forgiven you, already," said another X user.
"I feel ya Martin. I've been having the same thought lately," someone else commented.
A fourth person added: "let us know where you go so we can follow you there!"
Two hours later, Brundle responded to the feedback he received and shared his decision about whether he was leaving the platform.
"I've thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the diversity to my last post, including the negativity. That's what keeps you alive and motivated, and in touch. I'll stick with Twatter/X and keep my mind open. Opinions are like noses, everybody's got one and they all count," he wrote.
I've thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the diversity to my last post, including the negativity. That's what keeps you alive and motivated, and in touch. I'll stick with Twatter/X and keep my mind open. Opinions are like noses, everybody's got one and they all count.
— Martin Brundle OBE (@MBrundleF1) January 6, 2025At the time of writing, the post had been viewed 652,500 times, with people once again taking to the comments to share their thoughts.
"What you said was right, I wouldn't worry about Musk's followers," one person commented.
"Freedom of speech comes with a price: we often hear what we don't like or don't agree with. However, better than the alternative, which is censored speech, in different shapes and forms," said another.
A third person added: "I don't understand why everyone talks about how great it is musk 'brought back free speech' and yet when someone exercises that right, in a way they don't like, they all get bent out of shape."
Brundle's posts are in response to the fact that Musk—the billionaire who Donald Trump has tapped to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency—has recently been interfering in global politics.
Remarks by Musk on the affairs of European countries with left-leaning governments have increasingly provoked responses since Trump's election victory in November 2024.
British politicians have rebuked the tech billionaire after he called U.K. Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips a "rape genocide apologist" who "deserves to be in prison" over her response to a scandal in Yorkshire in which 1,400 underage girls had been groomed and trafficked for sex between 1997 and 2013. Musk's criticism stemmed from Phillips' decision to reject a request for the government to lead a public inquiry into the scandal, instead she suggested the local council investigate it.
The tech billionaire also recently called for the release from prison of far-right, anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, convicted of defying a court order by repeating false claims about a refugee who successfully sued him. Musk also revealed that he might invest up to £100 million ($127 million) into the fledgling right-wing Reform U.K. Party.
In December, the Tesla CEO expressed strong support for German far-right party Alternative for Germany. That endorsement led German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the center-left social democratic political party, to urge: "Don't feed the troll."
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