3,400 Scientists Call for Musk’s Removal from the Royal Society, But They Won’t Drop Musk (Yet)

Elon Musk’s membership of the Royal Society in the UK has survived for now, after an emergency meeting on 3rd March to discuss the future of the billionaire.

The Royal Society is a prestigious and well-respected organisation, described as a “fellowship of many of the world’s most eminent scientists”. The likes of Charles Darwin, Einstein, and Benjamin Franklin have been members since the organisation was founded in 1600.

Royal Society’s of Top Scientists Debate Musk Expulsion

Elon Musk was elected a fellow of the national academy of sciences in 2018, but there have been calls for his membership to be revoked, largely relating to the academy’s code of conduct. In fact, some eminent scientists have already resigned their fellowships to protest the lack of action against Musk.

3,400 members of the scientific community have also signed an open letter expressing their dismay that Musk was not upholding the standards.

Nobel laureate and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, who is also a fellow of the Royal Society – posted that he was in support of expelling Musk on the entrepreneur’s own platform, X.

“I think Elon Musk should be expelled from the British Royal Society. Not because he peddles conspiracy theories and makes Nazi salutes, but because of the huge damage he is doing to scientific institutions in the US. Now let’s see if he really believes in free speech,” he wrote.

Not shy to react, Elon Musk responded: “Only craven, insecure fools care about awards and memberships. History is the actual judge, always and forever. Your comments above are carelessly ignorant, cruel and false. That said, what specific actions require correction? I will make mistakes, but endeavor to fix them.”

Musk’s Controversial Conduct

Elon Musk’s comments, including calling MP Jess Phillips a “rape genocide apologist” have left a lot of fellows dismayed. Stephen Curry, who wrote the letter that has been signed by thousands, explained:

“I am at a loss to understand how these actions are consistent with a code of conduct that requires fellows to have ‘due regard for the statement of values developed from time to time by [the Royal] Society.”

Other members of the Society have criticised Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration.

The Royal Society’s code of conduct and disciplinary regulations have some relevant restrictions: “When speaking or publicising statements in a personal capacity, fellows and foreign members must still strive to uphold the reputation of the society and those who work in it, and be mindful that what is said or stated in a personal capacity could still impact the society.”

The Royal Society released a statement following the meeting where they decided not to revoke Musk’s fellowship:

“Concern was expressed, in particular, about the fate of colleagues in the US who are reportedly facing the prospect of losing their jobs amid threats of radical cutbacks in research funding,” their statement said. “Fellows, over 150 of whom attended tonight’s meeting, were united in the need for the society to step up its efforts to advocate for science and scientists at a time when these are under threat as never before and yet at the same time have never been more necessary for humanity at large.

Musk was not discussed in the public statement, as “any issues raised in respect of individual fellows are dealt with in strict confidence,” a spokesperson said. Critics have already questioned this stance and why the code of conduct does not seem to have been upheld in this particular case.