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Joyce Carol Oates Calls Elon Musk ‘Uncultured’ as Viral X Spat Prompts Musk to Tout Cultural Tastes

Reporters link the dispute to Musk’s recent Grok-generated posts, with Oates later describing her critique as cultural curiosity.

Overview

  • In a widely shared post, the 87-year-old novelist said Musk appears “totally uneducated, uncultured,” questioning his lack of posts about books, art, family or everyday joys.
  • Musk fired back on X, calling Oates a liar who delights in being mean and adding further insults about her writing.
  • The back-and-forth quickly spread across platforms, turning a routine exchange into a high-profile online feud.
  • Coverage ties Oates’s critique to Musk’s recent AI-generated videos made with xAI’s Grok Imagine tool, which drew mixed reactions.
  • Following the criticism, Musk replied to film-related posts with brief approvals, while Oates clarified she was probing how immense wealth relates to cultural engagement, and reaction online remained split.