Elon Musk has threatened journalist Kara Swisher with prison in a post on X after she suggested that Democrats could investigate his businesses if they gain control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.
The Tesla and SpaceX founder responded to Swisher’s comments by writing: “Live by the sword, die by the sword. Sounds like Swisher really wants to go to prison.”
The exchange followed remarks Swisher made during an appearance on The Bulwark podcast, where she discussed the possibility of congressional scrutiny of Musk and his companies.
Swisher recently launched the High Stakes podcast with former US First Lady Hillary Clinton.
Swisher Says Musk Could Face Investigations Under Democratic Control
During the podcast discussion, Swisher suggested that Musk could face investigations if Democrats secure control of both chambers of Congress in November.
She also argued that Musk might have faced legal consequences if Kamala Harris had defeated Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“Under Kamala Harris, he might be in jail right now, right?” Swisher said. “And that’s not because she’s some avenging fury. It’s because there is a lot of questions around different companies of his.”
Swisher further suggested that government agencies affected by the cuts Musk made while leading the Department of Government Efficiency could begin examining his businesses.
She said Musk should be concerned about the political consequences if Republicans lose control of the Senate.
“If Donald Trump loses the Senate, I would be worried if I were him even though how rich he is,” Swisher said.
“He has a very big sense of fate. And I think it’s coming for him. And real hard.”
Musk’s Response Draws Reactions on X
Musk took his disagreement with Swisher to social media, where his response attracted hundreds of thousands of views.
The excerpt of Swisher’s original remarks had received more than 2.4 million views on X, while Musk’s reply had attracted approximately 574,000 views by Wednesday night.
The exchange prompted reactions from other users. One questioned why Musk would face imprisonment, arguing that he had not broken the law. Another dismissed the prospect of Harris becoming president, saying she would never occupy the office.
The Daily Mail said it had contacted Swisher for comment.
Midterm Elections Raise Questions About Congressional Control
The dispute comes as polls project that Democrats could gain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in next month’s midterm elections.
Senior Republicans have challenged those projections, arguing that the surveys are skewed and that the party will perform better than predicted.
Musk has contributed more than $276 million to Republican groups as the party prepares for the elections.
Musk Faces Scrutiny Over Starlink and Ukraine
The controversy also comes amid reports concerning Musk’s satellite communications services in Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered a reduction in Starlink satellite services for Ukraine, including limits on connection speeds for Ukrainian equipment. The report said the restrictions rendered some Ukrainian drones unusable.
Kyiv has also accused Washington of deliberately slowing access to Starshield, a satellite network based on Starlink technology and used for national security purposes. US President Donald Trump denied the allegation last week.
Musk had previously said that any limits on Starshield speed or usage were decided by the US military and ultimately the president.
Rubio and Hegseth Deny Prior Knowledge of Changes
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington had no prior knowledge of the reported slowdown.
“The President has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr Musk,” Rubio said during a trip to India.
“That’s a private company; the President doesn’t run that company and can’t direct that company to do anything,” he added, stating that there had been no advance knowledge of the decision.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also said on Tuesday that the Pentagon had not ordered changes to Starshield.
“We haven’t pulled anything back,” Hegseth said.
