Microsoft’s Indian American CEO Satya Nadella has been a vocal advocate for increasing diversity in the tech sector
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has questioned Microsoft’s hiring practices over an unverified post on X that accused the Indian American CEO Satya Nadella-led company’s gaming division of excluding white candidates from its hiring process.
“Um, [Satya Nadella], this is illegal…” Musk wrote in response to an unverified post alleging Microsoft was actively hiring “unqualified queer and black people” to fill roles in their video game projects, as part of an executive mandate against “crusty old white dudes,” CNBCTV18.com reported.
This post appeared to react to a tweet reposted by Josh Sawyer, director of the popular video game Fallout, which encouraged Black artists to reach out for portfolio reviews and job advice while stating that there were “too many crusty white dudes in this field.”
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While the original claims remain unverified, and Microsoft has not officially responded to Musk’s comments, the company has long underlined its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the channel noted.
Nadella himself has been a vocal advocate for increasing diversity in the tech sector, and Microsoft has implemented numerous programmes to promote a more inclusive workforce.
This wasn’t the first time Musk targeted Microsoft, according to CNBC18. He previously mocked Nadella’s response to a global IT outage caused by an update from CrowdStrike, which disrupted services, including Microsoft 365 and Azure cloud.
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Nadella assured users that Microsoft was working to fix the issue. But, Musk, in his tweets, commented on the severity of the impact, particularly on the automotive supply chain, saying it “gave a seizure to the automotive supply chain.”
Musk also posted a meme with a laughing emoji, making light of the situation, and retweeted a 2021 tweet where he jokingly compared Microsoft to a fictitious company called “Macrohard.”
Before that, Musk also criticised Nadella over the setup process for new Windows PCs, urging him to allow users the option to skip the creation of a Microsoft account, according to CNBCTV18.com.