Elon Musk may face expulsion from Britain’s prestigious scientific society for the first time in over 150 years as angry scientists call for a crisis meeting to address his controversial behavior.
Being the wealthiest individual globally, Musk became a Fellow of the Royal Society Scientific Institution in 2018 for his exceptional contributions to innovative projects like Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and the Boring Company.
Nevertheless, concerns have arisen within the Royal Society, prompting a scheduled meeting next month to deliberate on the potential removal of Musk’s membership following a petition signed by more than 2,700 scientists alleging violations of the society’s ethical standards.
The letter, penned by biologist Stephen Curry, cited Musk’s apparent shift from scientific pursuits towards right-wing politics both in the US and abroad as the principal concern of other members.
Referencing Musk’s perpetuation of conspiracy theories online, his trolling of Dr Anthony Fauci and his labelling of Labour MP Jess Phillips as a ‘rape genocide apologist’, Curry argued the South African billionaire had clearly breached the Royal Society’s code of conduct.
Other issues of contention included Musk’s involvement with the Donald Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its alleged impact on the science community.
In the open letter, Curry stated: ‘The situation is rendered more serious because Mr Musk now occupies a position within a Trump administration in the USA that has over the past several weeks engaged in an assault on scientific research in the US that has fallen foul of federal courts’.
Confirming the scheduling of an emergency meeting, a Royal Society spokesperson told Fortune that a debate will take place on March 3 over ‘principles around public pronouncements and behaviours of Fellows’.
Elon Musk could become the first Fellow to be expelled from Britain’s top science club in over 150 years
The Royal Society Scientific Institution was first established back in 1660 and boasts the likes of Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein as previous members
Musk’s involvement in the 2024 US Presidential election and the subsequent Trump administration has caused a revolt amongst fellow Royal Society members
This open letter is not the first voicing of unease with Musk’s Royal Society Fellowship.
Last November, Professor Dorothy Bishop, a University of Oxford psychologist, resigned from the scientific institution.
Protesting Musk’s behaviour and involvement in the 2024 US Presidential election, Prof. Bishop said she refused to be associated with a group that calls Musk a member.
At the time, Prof. Bishop remarked that Musk was modelling himself on a ‘ond villain’.
‘I just feel far more comfortable to be dissociated from an institution that continues to honour this disreputable man,’ she added.
Her resignation was followed by that of Andrew Miller, a University of Edinburgh biologist, last week.
Miller cited the society’s ‘inability to take proportionate action on Elon Musk’s current promotion of disinformation and attacks on evidence-based policies and science advice’ as cause for his resignation.
The Royal Society has previously boasted esteemed Fellows such as Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Charlers Darwin, with current celebrated members including Sir David Attenborough and Sir James Dyson.
Founded back in 1660, the Royal Society is the UK’s oldest scientific academy.
Elon Musk, seen above gesturing to the crowd at President Donald Trump’s inauguration last month, has been a Fellow at the Royal Society since 2018
Musk’s branding of Labour MP Jess Phillips as a ‘rape genocide apologist’ was cited by members as a breach of the society’s code of conduct
Musk has also been heavily critical of Dr Anthony Fauci, who led the US response to Covid 19
The Royal Society has so far refrained from naming Musk as the Fellow whose membership they are meeting to discuss, instead stating that ‘any issues raised in respect of individual Fellows are dealt with in strict confidence’.
If the scientific body were to follow through on other member’s demands, Musk’s removal could result in significant damage for the centuries-old society.
Any decision made is likely to be viewed as a political one, with the institution at risk of becoming embroiled in a public culture war, the likes of which have already subsumed many of Musk’s recent critics.
One Fellow at the Royal Society spoke anonymously to The Times and expressed his support for Musk to hold on to his Fellowship despite his ‘reprehensible behaviour’.
‘I don’t like what Musk is doing — it’s reprehensible. But I also think he’s an astounding person in terms of what he has contributed to engineering.
‘The society would be hypocritical if it singled out and censured one person for things they have said and done. You open the doors to charges of hypocrisy if you go down this road’, they argued.
