Robyn isn’t rocking with Elon Musk — and she never has, even when he was far less controversial than he is today.
On the latest episode of Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’ Las Culturistas podcast posted Wednesday (Jan. 14), the dance-pop pioneer didn’t hold back when talking about her dislike of the billionaire Tesla owner. “I always hated him,” she told the hosts. “Way before it was cool to hate him.”
“There was a time when it wasn’t cool to hate him — people didn’t think about him that much, at least,” she continued. “For me, I started hating him when he put a Tesla in space with a David Bowie song on it … as if there wasn’t enough s–t floating around. I think there should be democracy in space. The fact that anyone or a commercial company can decide what to do with natural resources and also do tacky things, like sending a stupid f–king car into space that’s also dangerous for people.”
The incident to which Robyn was referring happened in 2018, years before Musk — who is South African — would become embedded in American politics through his association with an even more polarizing figure: President Donald Trump. At the time, Musk cross-promoted his Tesla and SpaceX companies by sending one of his Roadster cars, programmed to play 1973 hit “Space Oddity” on an infinite loop, into space via his Falcon Heavy rocket.
“It’s kind of silly and fun, but silly and fun things are important,” Musk said that year of the PR stunt, according to BBC News.
“[It’s] the best song in the world, and he put it in — just to sell cars,” Robyn added of Bowie’s beloved track before naming another billionaire whose business impact on the climate she criticizes. “But I also think we should hate on Jeff Bezos.”
Billboard has reached out to Musk for comment.
Elsewhere on the pod, the Swede discussed her new era and upcoming album, Sexistential, which is due out March 27. So far, fans have heard three tracks from the LP: “Dopamine,” “Talk to Me” and the title track.
Robyn last dropped an album, Honey, in 2018. The project reached No. 40 on the Billboard 200, her highest peak so far on the chart as the only credited artist on an entry.
Listen to Robyn’s full appearance on Las Culturistas below.
