# Elon Musk survives as fellow of Royal Society despite anger among scientists

## Questions remain over whether further action will be taken after resignations and calls for the Tesla CEO to be expelled

### By Nicola Davis, Science correspondent

Mon 3 Mar 2025 17.04 EST

Last modified on Mon 3 Mar 2025 18.21 EST

Elon Musk’s fellowship of the  remains intact after a meeting of the scientific body, the Guardian has learned, but questions remain about whether further action will be taken.

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who also owns the social media platform X, was  of the UK’s national academy of sciences in 2018, apparently in recognition of his work in the space and electric vehicle industries.

Calls for the honour to be revoked have grown in recent months, as  and the wider scientific community become increasingly alarmed by Musk’s conduct in relation to the academy’s code.

Two eminent scientists have resigned their fellowships in protest against the lack of action by the Royal Society, while  have signed an open letter organised by Stephen Curry, an emeritus professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, expressing similar dismay.

Earlier on Monday, the Nobel laureate and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton – a fellow of the Royal Society –  that he supported Musk’s removal.

“I think  should be expelled from the British Royal Society. Not because he peddles conspiracy theories and makes Nazi salutes, but because of the huge damage he is doing to scientific institutions in the US. Now let’s see if he really believes in free speech,” he wrote.

Musk : “Only craven, insecure fools care about awards and memberships. History is the actual judge, always and forever. Your comments above are carelessly ignorant, cruel and false. That said, what specific actions require correction? I will make mistakes, but endeavor to fix them.”

Concerns include Musk’s incendiary comments – such as calling the British MP Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, a “rape genocide apologist”.

“I am at a loss to understand how these actions are consistent with a code of conduct that requires fellows to have ‘due regard for the statement of values developed from time to time by \ Society’,” Curry wrote in the letter.

Scientists have also raised concerns over Musk’s actions within the Trump administration, where he oversees the US “department of government efficiency”. The cost-cutting operation has threatened the funding of scientific and medical communities, among other areas.

The meeting of the fellowship of the Royal Society, which began at 6pm on Monday, was arranged to discuss the principles around public pronouncements and behaviour of fellows.

The Royal Society’s  state: “Fellowship and foreign membership of the society is a privilege predicated on adherence to particular standards of conduct.”

Among other points, the document says: “When speaking or publicising statements in a personal capacity, fellows and foreign members must still strive to uphold the reputation of the society and those who work in it, and be mindful that what is said or stated in a personal capacity could still impact the society.”

After the meeting, the Royal Society released a statement saying the fellows agreed on the need to stand up for science and for scientists around the world in the face of the growing challenges science faces.



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