Billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X and Tesla, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian Member of Parliament Marius Nilsen, as per a report in Politico. The lawmaker announced his choice for the award and said that he picked the wealthiest man in the world for his "adamant defence of dialogue, free speech and (enabling) the possibility to express one's views' in a continuously more polarized world."
He also stated that Mr Musk's tech companies had helped "make the world a more connected and safer place." According to the outlet, the identities of Nobel Peace prize nominees are not publicly revealed until 50 years after the prize is awarded. However, Mr Nilsen fits the criteria for nominating someone for the award.
Mr Nilsen, representing the Progress Party, also thanked Mr Musk for providing Starlink satellite internet service to Ukraine after the Russian invasion of the country two years ago. "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," Mr Nilsen told local outlet Agderposten.
In October 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion with the aim of allowing free speech. Since the takeover, Mr Musk has completely redesigned both the business and the social media network. The billionaire who has touted himself as a "free speech absolutist" has reinstated many high-profile accounts suspended by the previous Twitter leadership. Among them were Ye (rapper Kanye West), accused of sharing antisemitic posts, influencer Andrew Tate, who was in a Romania prison on charges of human trafficking, and former US president Donald Trump, accused of instigating Capitol Hill riots.
Aside from X and Tesla, the world's richest person is also the head of SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Neuralink. As of February 21, his total net worth stands at $209 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Another Norwegian lawyer from the Red Party nominated WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for the prize. She told local outlet Dagsbladet, "Assange has exposed Western war crimes and thus contributed to peace. If we want to avoid war, we must know the truth about the damage that war brings. Assange has exposed torture and inhuman behaviour towards prisoners of war. He deserves the Peace Prize."
