‘They’re making mistakes in their exam. They may make mistakes with people, and that may result in people dying,’ the tech billionaire said.
Elon Musk again raised concerns that the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy, particularly in medical schools, can lead to people dying.
“If the standards for passing medical exams and becoming a doctor or especially something like a surgeon, if the standards are lowered, then the probability that the surgeon will make a mistake is higher,” Mr. Musk said. “They’re making mistakes in their exam. They may make mistakes with people, and that may result in people dying.”
The tech billionaire made the argument during the show with former CNN host Don Lemon as the pair discussed the issue.
During the interview, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX tried to explain the concept to the former CNN host, but it seemed Mr. Lemon did not get it, saying, “There’s no evidence of that.”
Mr. Musk then provided an example of a surgeon in training who, despite making numerous mistakes during operations, still passed training due to lower standards. He suggested that this lower standard could increase the likelihood of fatal outcomes.
Mr. Lemon argued it was “hypothetical, that doesn’t mean it’s happening.”
“I didn’t say it was happening; I said it will. I said if we lower [the] status, people will die,” Mr. Musk pushed back.
The former CNN anchor asked why Mr. Musk would “put something out there that has not happened.”
“Because I don’t want it to happen,” the X owner insisted.
The interview, posted on several social media platforms on March 18, was supposed to be a part of the former CNN anchor’s original exclusive plans on X. However, Mr. Musk canceled his platform’s partnership with Mr. Lemon shortly after the interview.
DEI Critic
Mr. Musk has long been outspoken against the DEI initiative. During an interview with commentator Ben Shapiro earlier this year at the European Jewish Association Conference in Poland, the owner of X said people should “always be wary of any name that sounds like it could come out of a George Orwell book.”
“Diversity, equity, inclusion, these all sound like nice words. But what it really means is discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and sexual orientation, and it’s against merit,” Mr. Musk said at the time.
During the interview, Mr. Musk noted that the solution to address this DEI problem is for universities to focus on merit. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man, [or] woman, what race you are, what beliefs you have. What matters is how good you are at your job or what your skills are,” he said.
By Aaron Pan
