After repeatedly bashing California’s response to the raging wildfires blazing through Los Angeles County, Elon Musk used his Tesla (TSLA-0.04%) and SpaceX to lend responders a hand.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO on Sunday said he would send several Cybertruck electric trucks outfitted with Starlink satellite internet terminals to the affected area. Musk also live-streamed a private briefing with local police to discuss the Palisades fire, which caused eight deaths, to his 211 million followers on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are going to position Cybertrucks with Starlinks and free WiFi in a grid pattern in the areas that most need it in the greater LA/Malibu area,” Musk wrote on X, his social media platform.
In its own post, Tesla summarized the extent of its efforts in supporting employees and communities impacted by the wildfires; the automaker said it was covering housing accommodations for employees, deploying charging stations and mobile power wall units, and handing out eight Cybertrucks. Musk wrote that customers expecting their new electric pickups “over the next few days” would receive them by the end of the week.
The aid comes after Musk bashed California fire officials, criticizing “nonsensical overregulation.” Over the last several days, Musk has downplayed the role of climate change in causing the wildfires, which have killed at least two dozen people and more than 12,000 structures.
Musk also boosted an hour-long video from the conspiracist Alex Jones claiming the fires are “part of a larger globalist plot” and claimed that the Los Angeles Fire Department’s investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion was costing lives. “DEI means people DIE,” Musk wrote, repeating similar claims he has made in the wake of other incidents, including Boeing’s (BA-0.88%) safety problems and CrowdStrike’s massive tech outage.
On Sunday, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom posted a clip from Musk’s livestream with the Palisades firefighters where an official corrected Musk who claimed there was a shortage of water to fight the Palisades fire. The official explains that the system could not keep up with the firefighters’ demand.
Newsom captioned by calling Musk “exposed by firefighters for his own lies.” Earlier that day, Musk had called for Newsom to resign and called him a derogatory name.
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