Billie Eilish calls out billionaires in front of Mark Zuckerberg
The Grammy Award-winning singer addressed billionaires in attendance while accepting Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator in Music award.
Elon Musk and Billie Eilish are far from “Birds of a Feather.”
The Tesla CEO and tech billionaire, 54, fired back at recent criticism from the Grammy-winning pop star, after shareholders approved a deal that could make him the world’s first trillionaire.
On Nov. 13, Eilish shared an Instagram post by the My Voice, My Choice initiative detailing what Musk could do if he reached the unprecedented fiscal benchmark. The outspoken singer also wrote a brief remark on her Instagram story directed toward Musk that included the words “pathetic” and “coward,” as well as three expletives.
The post suggested Musk dedicate his wealth toward philanthropy efforts, including spending $40 billion annually to combat world hunger, $10 billion annually to vaccinate 140 million newborns for the next 100 years and $53.2 billion to rebuild Gaza.
Musk, whose current net worth is estimated at $470.5 billion, seemingly dismissed Eilish’s criticism in an X post Monday, Nov. 17. Reposting the singer’s original Instagram post, the tech mogul wrote: “She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Eilish’s representatives for comment.
Musk and Eilish’s back-and-forth comes after Eilish took aim at billionaire wealth and income inequality during an appearance at the 2025 WSJ. Innovator Awards on Oct. 29, where she was honored with the music innovator award.
“Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me,” Eilish said to the star-packed room, which included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. “If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but give your money away, shorties.”
How could Elon Musk become a trillionaire?
Musk is not a trillionaire, although there’s a chance he could become one after Tesla shareholders agreed to grant him shares worth trillions on Nov. 6 if the company reaches its financial and operational goals over the next decade.
If successful, the company’s market value will reach $8.5 trillion and Musk will own a quarter of the stock, Reuters previously reported. Among the goals were increasing paid subscriptions to its self-driving software to 10 million and selling 1 million humanlike robots.
“What we’re about to embark upon is not merely a new chapter of the future of Tesla, but a whole new book,” Musk told shareholders at the time.
Already the world’s richest person, the South African native leveraged his availability and focus amid negotiations and said he would prioritize his other companies, like SpaceX and Neuralink, if the deal failed, according to Reuters.
Contributing: Reuters
