Elon Musk has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as a ‘stout proponent for free speech’, joining conservationists, journalists, religious leaders and political activists in an exclusive group of the world’s foremost actors for change.
Marius Nilsen, MP for Norway’s libertarian Progress Party, claimed to have put forward the X owner and Tesla founder for his ‘adamant defense of dialogue, free speech and [enabling] the possibility to express one’s views’ in a ‘continuously more polarized world’.
Nilsen also credited Musk’s satellite internet constellation Starlink, operated by SpaceX, in his decision, noting its use in Ukraine for resistance fighters to ‘communicate, coordinate and withstand the attack from Russia’ as the war rages on.
Last week, Starlink won a license for similar use in Israel and parts of Gaza, with timely and diverse information from the conflict zone proving evermore challenging to gather.
‘The multitude of tech companies Musk has founded, owns or runs, aimed at bettering societies, increasing knowledge of both earth and space, in addition to enabling communication and connectivity globally… has helped make the world a more connected and safer place,’ Nilsen said.
The award accepts nominations from anyone who falls within certain criteria, including work in academia or government – and past recipients of prizes. A shortlist will then be drawn together through March before judges review the nominees for announcement in October.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk gets in a Tesla as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China on May 31, 2023
A SpaceX rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites takes off from Kennedy Space Center on January 28
The winner of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, an anonymous group of five appointed by the country’s parliament.
Nominators are expected to submit their entries by January 31 for consideration, before a shortlist is prepared in March.
The entries are then considered in an adviser review in the summer before judges can announce the majority vote in October. A Nobel Prize award ceremony is expected to follow at the end of the year.
Mr Nilsen revealed to DailyMail.com today that he had entered Musk for his commitment to free speech and global connectivity.
‘This combined with connecting the whole world to internet, enabling all parts of the world to discuss, to exchange ideas, to learn and to get to know- and understand each other is a very valuable contribution to world prosperity and peace,’ he said.
‘The value of freedom of speech is of utmost importance when its under pressure, as it is today. Forces from all different political viewpoints wants to silence opinions they disagree with, either by cancellation, by threats or by other means. Mr. Musk determination to keep a platform open where differences of opinions can be voiced is, disregarding the political views is positive In todays world of distrust,’ he told DailyMail.com.
His Progress Party identifies itself with classical-liberal views, espoused by the likes of John Locke and Adam Smith. Some have described the party as standing for both ‘conservative liberalism’ and ‘right-wing populism’.
The nomination ranks Musk among prominent activists vying for this year’s Peace Prize.
Nominees include British environmentalist David Attenborough, Australian activist Julian Assange, Pope Francis, UN chief António Guterres, Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, Colombian president Gustavo Petro and former US president Donald Trump.
The prize is one of five Nobel Prizes set up in the name of Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel in 1901.
The most recent recipient is Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist, ‘for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all’.
In 2022, Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties shared the award.
The organisation said: ‘The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens.
‘They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy’.
Elon Musk, the owner of social media site X, was heralded as a ‘stout proponent of free speech’
NYT Columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and Elon Musk speak during the New York Times annual DealBook summit on November 29, 2023 in New York City
In his arguments for Musk’s 2024 nomination, Mr Nilsen said: ‘Man can, and will only evolve and find together when difference of opinions are sharpened in dialogue with critical thinkers and opposing views.
‘Echo chambers and yes-people do not bring forth the best ideas and cooperation, but decline and regression. Complementary views, opinions and processes of thoughts unlocks the best ideas.’
He argued Musk’s contributions to free speech and global connectivity were ‘enabling all parts of the world to discuss, to exchange ideas, to learn and to get to know- and understand each other is a very valuable contribution to world prosperity and peace’.
‘Misinformation online is a problem, but I still believe in free speech and open arenas to discuss these. Otherwise you will sow the fruits of distrust and conspiracy theories,’ he told DailyMail.com.
The South African entrepreneur began his takeover of Twitter in April 2022 with overtures to protecting free speech, proclaiming himself an ‘absolutist’ on the matter. A month before the acquisition, he polled users and reported 70 per cent believed Twitter did not believe the site – under its old owners – ‘rigorously adhered’ to free speech.
Musk went on to restore a number of banned accounts including Andrew Tate and Donald Trump, billing the site as a free and open marketplace of ideas online.
Still, he received some backlash after banning a user for sharing the location of Musk’s jet – after saying that he would allow the account to stay, citing free speech.
The EU also stepped in when Musk announced he would ban tech journalists who had shared his location. And the billionaire received criticism for suggesting he would ban accounts with a ‘primary purpose’ of promoting competitor sites.
In 2022, X employees claimed they were fired for expressing concern about colleagues fired after criticizing Musk. Insider sources said at the time the company was still acting nominally under old policy that allowed for criticism of leadership.
Prior to his Twitter acquisition, Musk’s car company Tesla was accused of calling on the Chinese government to use its censorship powers to block critics online.
And by the end of 2021, Tesla had filed two defamation cases against citizens raising concerns about the safety and quality of its vehicles, Free Press reported last year.
Musk’s Starlink terminals have meanwhile allowed Ukrainian commanders and units to communicate on the battlefield when their usual networks have been taken down by Russia, and have proved vital to the war effort.
They have also helped Ukrainian troops control drones which assist with reconnaissance, attacks on enemy tanks, and directing artillery fire.
Ukraine’s military spy agency alleged this month that Russian forces have also been buying up Starlink satellite units from Arab countries in a bid to circumvent western sanctions.
But the SpaceX founder has stated outright: ‘SpaceX said it ‘does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military’.
‘The company said: ‘Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country.
‘SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it shipped equipment to locations in Russia.’
In 2022, Musk was awarded with the Order of Defence Merit by Brazil after negotiating the launch of Starlink in the Amazon rainforest.
He was also named Time’s Person of the Year in 2021 and awarded the Oslo Business for Peace Award in 2017.
Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk visits the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi German death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, on Monday, January 22, 2024
Elon Musk visited the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau World War II Nazi German death camp after facing criticism for subscribing to an antisemitic conspiracy theory and allowing hate messages on his social media platform, X
The Nobel Peace Prize has attracted some controversy over the years.
Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 after reaching an armistice with Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerki – but launched a devastating military campaign into the northern Tigray region just months later in November 2020.
‘He felt he had a lot of international support, and that if he went to war in Tigray, nothing would happen. And he was right,’ former administrational official Gebremeskel Kassa reflected, quoted in a New York Times article after the invasion.
In 2012, demonstrators in Norway marched on Oslo to protest the decision to hand the EU the award at a time of debt crisis.
The ‘Nobel Peace Prize Initiative for 2012’ protest joined forces with Noway’s euroskeptic ‘No to EU’ group and members of Left-wing parties, trade unions and charities to argue the award was unjustified and devalued the award.
Heming Olaussen, leader of No to EU, criticized the decision given social and economic unrest in the EU, growing youth unemployment in southern Europe, addressive trade policy towards developing countries and its arms profile.
Henry Kissinger was awarded the 1973 Peace Prize for his role in negotiating the end of the Vietnam War. Historians have condemned Kissinger for his influence on policies that led to the deaths of millions of people while he was in office, and the perpetuation of foreign wars.
Pictured: SpaceX Falcon 9 carries Starlink satellites on January 28. Starlink has proven a lifeline for Ukrainian forces fighting the Russian invasion in eastern Europe
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