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Elon Musk Clashes with NPR on Twitter, Threatens to Reassign Account: “You Suck”

ByAlki David

May 4, 2023

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has never been one to shy away from a Twitter feud, and his latest target is none other than National Public Radio (NPR). It all started when Twitter labeled NPR as “state-affiliated media” in April, prompting outrage from the organization and its supporters.

While some argued that the label went against Twitter’s terms of service, it was eventually changed to “state-funded media.” However, Musk wasn’t content to let the issue die there.

On May 2nd, NPR tweeted that its Twitter account had stopped tweeting due to a technical issue. Musk responded by threatening to reassign the account, saying “Looks lame, guess I’ll reassign the account.” NPR quickly reported the tweet and Musk responded with two simple words: “You suck.”

The exchange quickly went viral, with many taking sides in the feud. Some criticized Musk for his harsh words, while others defended him as a champion of free speech.

Despite the drama, it’s unlikely that Musk will actually be able to reassign NPR’s Twitter account. Twitter has strict rules in place to prevent accounts from being taken over or reassigned without proper authorization.

So for now, it seems that the feud between Elon Musk and NPR will continue to play out on Twitter. Only time will tell whether the two sides will be able to find common ground, or whether the war of words will escalate even further.

In the world of Twitter, anything can happen. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

By Alki David

Alki David — Publisher, Media Architect, SIN Network Creator - live, direct-to-public communication, media infrastructure, accountability journalism, and independent distribution. Born in Lagos, Nigeria; educated in the United Kingdom and Switzerland; attended the Royal College of Art. Early internet broadcaster — participated in real-time public coverage during the 1997 Mars landing era using experimental online transmission from Beverly Hills. Founder of FilmOn, one of the earliest global internet television networks offering live and on-demand broadcasting outside legacy gatekeepers. Publisher of SHOCKYA — reporting since 2010 on systemic corruption inside the entertainment business and its expansion into law, finance, and regulation. Creator of the SIN Network (ShockYA Integrated Network), a federated media and civic-information infrastructure spanning investigative journalism, live TV, documentary, and court-record reporting. Lived and worked for over 40 years inside global media hubs including Malibu, Beverly Hills, London, Hong Kong and Gstaad. Early encounter with Julian Assange during the first Hologram USA operations proved a formative turning point — exposing the realities of lawfare, information suppression, and concentrated media power. Principal complainant and driving force behind what court filings describe as the largest consolidated media–legal accountability action on record, now before the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Relocated to Antigua & Barbuda and entered sustained legal, civic, and informational confrontation over media power, safeguarding, and accountability at Commonwealth scale.