Elon Musk reportedly leaves call after being asked about suspending journalists on Twitter

Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who tends to be quite expressive online, remained tight-lipped during an online conference recently, when he appeared to flee the call after he was asked to comment on suspending the Twitter accounts of popular journalists. According to Newsweek, the Twitter Spaces conference, which was held by Buzzfeed's Kate Notopoulos, witnessed Musk leaving the call after he was asked to address the abrupt move.

In a recording of the conversation shared widely on social media, several journalists can be heard asking the billionaire why he suspended the accounts of multiple newspersons after suspending ElonJet, a Twitter account that shared tracking information of Musk’s private airplane. 

As journalists clarified that covering stories on Musk’s air travel does not equate to sharing his personal data and location, the Twitter boss, who identifies as a free speech absolutist, said that he perceived both the acts as "doxxing." "It's not more acceptable for you than it is for me," Musk told The Washington Post's Drew Harwell, whose account was among those that were suspended this week.

What happened during the call, and what led to Musk's suspension spree?

Harwell then pointed out how Musk had done something similar by sharing a New York Post article from 2020 on US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter. Responding to it, Musk said: "There is not special treatment for journalists.” "You dox, you get suspended, end of story," he added.

Notopoulos, the host of the conference, then goes on to ask the CEO another question, before realizing that he had already left the chat. "Oh. I think Elon has left," she said, as other journalists added: "That's unfortunate." 

Earlier this week, Musk met with a dangerous incident when his son was followed by what he described as a “crazy stalker.” Following this, Musk banned the ElonJet account for sharing his flight information and jeopardizing his safety, and further sought legal action against the account's operator. "Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not," he said in a tweet on Thursday.