Quote of the Day by Elon Musk: 'I think there should be regulations on social media to the degree that it negatively affects the public good'

“I think there should be regulations on social media to the degree that it negatively affects the public good.” An insightful quote by Elon Musk, CEO and Founder of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company.

In 2018, Musk expressed openness to public oversight and regulatory guardrails for digital platforms.

Who is Elon Musk 

Elon Musk is a prominent billionaire entrepreneur, engineer, and tech mogul best known for founding and leading groundbreaking companies in space exploration, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence. Beyond electric cars and rockets, his current focus spans a massive empire of cutting-edge industries, including his brain-computer interface firm Neuralink, tunnel-construction business The Boring Company, and his generative AI startup xAI.

Musk consistently ranks as the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth tracking between $912 billion and $956 billion according to real-time billionaire indexes from Forbes and Bloomberg. This historic level of personal wealth is primarily anchored in his significant equity stakes in Tesla and SpaceX. It has been supercharged by a massive 2026 industrial ecosystem merger with his generative AI startup, xAI.

Musk’s technical, aerospace, and business leadership has earned him some of the highest distinct honours in science and industry. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Society and a peer-elected member of the National Academy of Engineering. His work in rocketry has won him prestigious aerospace accolades like the FAI Gold Space Medal and the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication.

When was this quote said by Elon Musk?

Elon Musk made this statement during an April 2018 interview with CBS This Morning while discussing public oversight and the spread of misinformation.

Musk stated that the unchecked spread of fake news—where false stories can outperform real news in engagement—amounts to unmonitored public deception.

What does this quote mean? 

Musk argued that when platforms allow fake news and misinformation to spread unchecked—often outperforming real news because it is more sensational—it creates a system of public deception.

Musk compared the digital landscape to other heavily regulated industries, suggesting that just as the government sets safety standards for cars, food, and aeroplanes to protect citizens, it should also establish rules for social media platforms when their operations threaten public safety, democracy, or the collective well-being.