Irene Montero responds to Elon Musk after he accused her of ‘advocating genocide’: ‘Decent people should replace you’
The owner of X previously lashed out at the MEP for her remarks at a rally in Zaragoza, reigniting the controversy over the regularization of more than 500,000 migrants in Spain
Elon Musk, owner of X and Tesla, lashed out on social media Sunday against MEP and political secretary of Spanish leftist party Podemos, Irene Montero, accusing her of “advocating genocide.” The magnate was reacting to statements Montero made during a rally on Saturday in Zaragoza, in which she appealed to “migrants and racialized people” not to “leave us alone with so many fascists,” mentioned the so-called replacement theory, and added: “Of course I want there to be a replacement of fascists and racists.”
She is advocating genocide. Utterly contemptible.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 1, 2026
The Podemos politician quickly responded to Musk’s provocation on the same social media platform, quoting a line from an email released by the U.S. Department of Justice in a massive declassification of documents related to the Epstein case, in which Musk asked the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein: “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Montero quoted the line and added that “Of course, decent people — who make up the majority of humanity — must replace you. Urgently. So that you stop raping, bombing, kidnapping children, and killing.”
“Which day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”
— Irene Montero (@IreneMontero) February 1, 2026
Of course, decent people — who make up the majority of humanity — must replace you. Urgently. So that you stop raping, bombing, kidnapping children, and killing. https://t.co/AMHJWWb4mA
The online dispute stems from the agreement between Podemos and the government to approve an extraordinary regularization of migrants that could benefit more than 500,000 people in Spain. The tech billionaire has expressed his opposition to the measure on several occasions through his social media accounts. At the rally in Zaragoza, Montero alluded to the regularization and stated: “We have obtained papers and regularization. And now we are going to go for citizenship or change the law so that they can vote, of course. Hopefully, replacement theory, hopefully we can rid this country of fascists and racists with migrants, with working people.”
The “great replacement” theory that has prompted Musk’s reaction is a conspiracy theory, propagated by the right and far right, which posits the existence of a supposed plan to replace the white European population through immigration. Last week, Musk also tweeted about the regularization process and shared a post claiming that the Spanish government had agreed to this measure to influence the upcoming elections and allow migrants to obtain voting permits. Alongside the post, he added a curt: “Wow.”
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