Update: Days after his original call for imprisoning Supervisor Dean Preston, Elon Musk did it again, posting on X that “Dean Preston should be in prison for what he’s done to San Francisco.” That call came the same day Musk said a second supervisor, Board President Aaron Peskin, should also be thrown in prison.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, called today for the jailing of District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston.
“Dean Preston should go to prison,” Musk posted in response to a Mission Local article reporting that legislation introduced by Preston, which would ban security guards from unholstering their weapons over property crimes, passed in a committee on Thursday.
The democratic socialist Preston’s legislation was unanimously supported by the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee’s three moderate members, Catherine Stefani, Matt Dorsey and Joel Engardio.
Musk has made no secret of his disdain for the supervisor: Last week, he called for Preston to be fired, and named him “arguably the person most responsible for the destruction of San Francisco.” Half an hour later, Musk pledged $100,000 to a political action committee fundraising to unseat the supervisor, who is the only democratic socialist on the Board of Supervisors.
The PAC, dubbed Dump Dean and run by the political pressure group Grow SF, said they had not received a donation from Musk and would, after today’s comments, not take one in the future.
“We won’t accept the donation,” said Steven Buss, one of the co-founders of the group. Buss said he had never believed the donation would materialize, and had not been contacted by Musk.
“We need to be aligned on values with our donors, and it’s clear we differ with Elon on a number of important issues (including locking up political opponents),” Buss said, adding that Musk’s tweets were “a stupid distraction” that has “nothing to do with us or the voters who care about clean and safe streets.”
Preston sent out a statement soon after Musk’s posts.
“These attacks are beyond the pale,” said Preston in a statement. “A billionaire calling for a democratically elected official to be sent to prison for no reason is textbook fascism. Regardless, I will continue advocating for my constituents, even if that makes billionaires uncomfortable and increasingly unhinged.”
Preston has, in the past, said it was not surprising he would draw the ire of a “right-wing billionaire,” as the supervisor is “a democratic socialist,” pointing to his own past anti-eviction and affordable-housing ordinances.
The supervisor has become the bête noire of moderate political pressure groups and their well-heeled donors in San Francisco: Garry Tan, the millionaire CEO of Y Combinator, has unleashed frequent tirades against Preston and pledged to end his time in politics next year, when Preston faces a re-election race.
Tan has pledged $50,000 to the PAC opposing Preston, an amount Musk said he would double. Tan is also a board member of the group Grow SF, which is behind the PAC, and whose founders have taken aim at the supervisor, alongside other moderate groups and donors.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, a fellow progressive, called attention to the cavalcade opposing Preston. He said other tech executives were “spending their money in the same ways” as Musk, and that he was representative of their ilk, even if his rhetoric is often harsher.
“In some ways, I think Elon Musk is doing San Francisco a favor because he is actually saying what some of his fellow billionaires think but don’t say,” Peskin said.
Peskin believed there could be a silver lining for Preston, as the attacks could galvanize support and donations to the supervisor in next year’s District 5 race: “People in the San Francisco Bay Area are offended by it and are too sophisticated to fall for it, and it’s probably the best thing that ever happened to Dean Preston.”
The ordinance that passed on Thursday — and is apparently reviled by Musk — was crafted by Preston in response to the shooting death of Banko Brown, a transgender man who was shot and killed at a mid-Market Walgreens in April. Brown was suspected of shoplifting some $15 worth of snacks and, on his way out of the store, was intercepted by a security guard.
The guard wrestled with Brown and threw him onto the floor. And, as Brown was backing out of the exit, the guard shot him once in the chest. The guard was not charged for the shooting, which is under review by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Musk has a history of anti-trans rhetoric, recently saying the use of preferred pronouns rots the brain and implying that transgender people are heavily privileged in society. He has a transgender daughter who has disavowed him, and his recent biographer, Walter Isaacson, said that his daughter’s rejection has caused a right-wing turn.
Peskin, for his part, said he was not worried about the attacks and did not give “credence” to Musk — quite the opposite.
“My intelligence is insulted by having to talk about Elon Musk,” Peskin said.
I have some issues with Preston, but ouch. If Musk had any self-awareness whatsoever, he’d understand that “Elon Musk Hates Me!” is basically a campaign ad in D5.
Can we please stop calling these alt right zealots “moderates?”
Have another hit of Ketamine Elon. Dude is UNHINGED. This won’t end well for Muskrat. Every time he or Garry Tan make comments like this on social media, D5 residents make campaign contributions to Dean Preston.
I am disappointed in Mission Local for amplifying Musk’s nonsense. You reward him with your attention. Look away and he will slink away. Please do better.
Diana —
While many people resent having to know who Elon Musk is, it’s capital-n News when the richest man in the world and a person with Musk’s reach calls for the incarceration of a random city official. There is no “ignoring” a dude who owns a social media site. That doesn’t mean you have to repeat what he says uncritically, but that’s not what our article has done.
You could also direct your suggestion to Supervisor Preston, who put out a press release on the matter.
Best,
JE
Thanks Joe, I respect your opinion.
You’re welcome, Diana. Let’s hope for a saner weekend.
JE
Well stated response Joe.
Keep up the excellent reporting Mission Local –
it’s a valuable service in our City.
Are you for censorship of anyone who doesn’t think like you do Diana?
Have you lived in this city for any length of time (like before MAYOR ED LEE allowed Big Tech to destroy this town??
Did you ever live here when it was a proud beautiful LIVE & LET LIVE Artistic Bohemian Refuge of a town where there was a SANE balance of COMMON SENSE and Middle Class Union Supervisors and renting was an acceptible choice?
A time with great (albeit always fairly corrupt) City Government made up of people who LOVED this city?
BEFORE all this BS , virtue signaling and Democrats who became Purity Maoists ???
Im heartbroken at what a mess this current City Government is and the loss of all my formerly intelligent “Liberal” friends who are SCARED RABBITS from Covid & Trump and can no longer speak to anyone who doesnt think EXACTLY like they do!
It’s heartbreaking!
Funny, I wasn’t aware failing to publicly kiss the Musk Rat’s posterior was considered a jailable offense.
Well, Elon’s kinda special, y’ know. Anyone who deliberately torches 45 billion bucks. . . 🙄
Why is no one outraged by the comments Aaron Peskin gave for this story? Who is Aaron Peskin to say that others (“tech executives” or “billionaires” or not) who oppose Preston and have donated to efforts to unseat him are, in secret, just like Elon Musk?
Reasonable people can oppose Dean Preston and many do. I’m one of them. My reasons have nothing to do with my economic self-interest. I’m not calling for incarcerating anyone. I’d guess the great majority of Preston opponents think more like me than like Musk.
Peskin characterizing all of us as like Elon is political opportunism, for which Musk, unfortunately, set him up nicely. Peskin boasting in the media about how he seized that opportunity is shameless.
I’m glad Peskin said what he said. Look at this list of astroturf groups and dark-money PACs out to remove Preston: GrowSF, TogetherSF, RescueSF, Neighbors for a BetterSF, Vote&ChangeSF, SOAR, and Hi5D5. Where do you think the distorted narrative of SF’s doom loop narrative comes from? Where do you think the disgusting “The Fentalife!” campaign came from? In the end, it’s really about destroying district elections, lifting resrtictions on developers, and eliminating rent control. So yeah, it’s been done secret but hopefully not for long.
I’d be willing to bet Elon Musk was either being sarcastic or the quote is taken wildly out of context. As for Mr Peskin’s proposal I do wonder if there are also to be rules of engagement for thieves or just for those who might interfere with their stealing.
Creepy Elon Mucous is ignorant and has clearly lost his mind. He has no understanding of Civics 101 or how elections and democracy work……..further proof of his drug addled narcissism. Be gone Mucous! You have no power here. Get thee to an apartheid state. Even his dog dislikes him.
Banko was shot because the security guard couldn’t control his anger after Banko spat on him while exiting the store. Watch the video. Banko thought he was in the clear. He wasn’t. When you sign up to be a security guard in SF, getting spit on is just part of the job, unfortunately. You don’t shoot someone just because they spit on you.
I’m so sick of these billionaire tech bros thinking they have any right to determine what happens in SF. Especially Musk, a bigoted,racist bully who needs to be brought down a few rungs, he is a horrible man.
🙄 What a surprise: the racist, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic, South African-aparthed-diamond trust-fund baby (https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musks-dad-errol-shares-deadly-secrets-of-the-fabled-emerald-mine-in-zambia ) further reveals himself to be the world’s biggest sn❄️wflake. Wonder what deceased pal Jeffrey Epstein would think?
Surprised he has time to complain about SF supes when he’s so busy doing… um… wearing a cowboy hat backwards?
Flushing Twitter further down the toilet?
Supporting Nazis?
Putting out faulty products that don’t work and crappy cars that actually harm the environment? https://48hills.org/2022/04/ultimate-troll-elon-musk-twitter-san-francisco/
Take your pick. It’s no surprise he never delivered on his California speed train.
This is unfortunately one of the very few things that could make Dean, a regressive on housing, more sympathetic.
Guess you’re not familiar with the 3 large low-income housing developments in D5 that he’s helped broker.
El dueño de X quiere que cada que lo vean digan : mira pobresito sufrió buling y es multimillonario en sf .
Pero detrás de esa máscara se esconden pensamientos que aterrorizan ,lo que dice es solo la punta de su maldad
Clash of the Titans of the extremes. I have no problem with this.
Good for Elon for calling out Preston.
Dean Preston is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who are neither socialists nor democrats and appropriately their SF office is on Alabama Street.
They’re actually totalitarian communists who call each other “comrades” on their website and teach a class in Marxism.
DSA works within the electoral system. Communists want an overthrow of the government. Major difference.
“DSA works within the electoral system”
Until they no longer have to, like Trump and his MAGA thugs.
When civility becomes the exception to the norm we are all in trouble. One can only hope that as the memory of the last decade fades, so will the nastiness that it road in on. We need new leaders who are ready to follow the people instead of coercing them.
Tranphobic Billionaire hates Dean Preston? Not a shocker. I think this article needn’t repeat so much of the hateful rhetoric though – Dean has been an AMAZING supervisor and one of the last people standing trying to keep this city from falling apart by all the housing speculators and criminals at city hall
This is the very best that they can come up with? Security guards cannot defend themselves? Great deterrent Dean. Your cause celebre was a notorious serial shop lifter who acted violently towards customers and employees throughout this City. Getting killed for it was horrible and unnecessary but 100% caused by you and yours experimenting with criminal justice reform at the rest of our expense. Dean Preston is a multi millionaire who has never struggled for anything other than finding relevance in his life and his time as a supervisor has been an utter failure on all levels. Please voters fire him. End district elections and let the voters of the City decide.
oh come on, do people actually believe these lies? Dean and progressives are not in favor of crime. But what would you do with shoplifters? Execute them? Jail them for life? And no way in hell are we ending district elections, making rich bros like Musk able to control the whole city with $. NO
It’s not Billionaires that should not exist, it’s Democratic Socialists that should not exist.
Elon Musk isn’t as stupid as he seems. As abhorrent as he is, he found one San Francisco supervisor to pick on who is worse.