The Royal Society is facing calls to expel Elon Musk from its community over concerns about the tech billionaire’s behavior.
The Guardian understands Musk, who owns social media site X, was elected as a Fellow of the United Kingdom’s National Academy of Sciences in 2018 in recognition of his work and impact in the space and electric vehicle industries, with some considering him a “modern day Brunel”.
Musk is a co-founder of SpaceX, which pioneered, among other things, the development of reusable rockets. He is also a co-founder and CEO of the electric car manufacturer Tesla, who has also championed the development of sustainable energy sources.
However, the Guardian has learned that a number of Royal Society fellows have written to the institution to raise the possibility of removing Musk’s fellowship.
According to one aide, the concern comes as a result of Musk’s increasingly inflammatory comments, including his response to the recent riots in the UK, with fears that he could bring the institution into disrepute.
Musk was approached for comment via his companies, including X.
Musk’s tweets about the unrest drew widespread condemnation: in August, Downing Street criticized comments from the billionaire says “civil war is inevitable” posted under a video of violent riots in Liverpool.
Musk also shared – and later deleted – a fake news report claims that Keir Starmer is considering sending far-right rioters to “emergency detention camps” in the Falklands, and has promote the conspiracy theory that the police in the UK treat white far-right “protesters” more harshly than minority groups.
However, there are concerns that any move to oust Musk should be based not on his views, but on his ability to reinforce his beliefs, and concerns that his influence could cause serious and intentional harm.
The Royal Society code of conduct and disciplinary regulations states: “Fellowship and foreign membership of the Society is a privilege based on the observance of certain standards of conduct.”
The document says, among other things: ”When statements are spoken or made public in a personal capacity, fellows and foreign members must still strive to uphold the reputation of the Society and those who work in it, and be mindful that what said or stated in a personal capacity may still affect the Society.”
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It also states that fellows and foreign members who breach the code of conduct may be subject to enforcement action – possibly temporary or permanent suspension – while the disciplinary regulations set out various procedures to be followed if allegations of misconduct are made against a fellow or foreign member. .
Expulsion of a fellow from the Royal Society would be highly unusual: the Guardian understands none has been made in more than 150 years.
However, there were other controversies: in 2008, Prof Michael Reiss has retired from his position as director of education at the institution following comments he made about the teaching of creationism in schools.
A Royal Society spokesman said: “Any issues raised in relation to individual fellows are dealt with in confidence.”
