Cardi B Hits Back at Elon Musk Over ‘Puppet’ Comment

Cardi B has responded to criticisms from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the billionaire’s claim that she is a “puppet” for Kamala Harris following her speech in support of the vice president.

The rapper, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus, spoke at a Harris for President rally in Milwaukee on Friday. Her candid criticisms of former President Donald Trump, whom she called a “hustler,” were met with cheers from the crowd at the Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center, but have since drawn the ire of one of Trump’s most prominent supporters.

“Another puppet who can’t even talk without being fed the words,” Elon Musk posted to X on Saturday. “The Kamala campaign has no authenticity or true empathy.”

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (left) at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 27, 2024. Cardi B (right) on November 1, 2024. The rapper has hit out at the Tesla CEO’s… More Angela Weiss/Andrew Harnik//AFP via Getty Images/ Getty Images
Musk was remarking on a two-minute pause at the start of Cardi B’s appearance, caused by what appeared to be a glitch in the teleprompter, and which required the rapper to read her speech from a phone handed to her by a staffer.

Cardi B took to X to respond to Musk’s comments a few hours later, and hit back at the accusation that she was a “puppet” for the vice president.

“I’m not a puppet Elon,” the rapper wrote. “I’m a daughter of two immigrant parents that had to work their ass off to provide for me!”

Cardi B, whose parents are Dominican and Trinidadian, also told Musk that she was a “product” of welfare, poverty and Section 8, the Housing Act program which provides rental assistance for low-income households in the U.S.

“I’m a product of what happens when the system is set up against you….But you don’t know nothing about that. You don’t know not one thing about the American struggle,” she said.

Cardi B signed off her post with a jab at Musk’s ownership of X, writing: “PS fix my algorithm.”

Cardi B is not the first figure to face the “puppet” accusation from Musk, who has emerged as one of Trump’s most ardent supporters since he made his endorsement public on July 13, following the assassination attempt at Butler, Pennsylvania.

After facing significant backlash for writing, “No one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala” on September 15, following the second assassination attempt on the former president, Musk defended the deleted post during an interview with Tucker Carlson on October 7.

“I made a joke, which I realized I deleted, which is like, nobody is even bothering to try to kill Kamala because it’s pointless,” Musk told the former Fox News host. “What do you achieve? Nothing. They’ll just put in another puppet.”

Musk has stumped for the former president on numerous occasions, while also emerging as one of his biggest financial backers.

The billionaire has poured over $118 million into Trump’s campaign through his reelection-focused America PAC, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Newsweek has contacted the PAC via email for confirmation.

Musk also recently launched a giveaway contest for registered swing state voters, who are in with a chance of claiming a $1-million prize if they sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.

However, the contest has been criticized as legally dubious. On Friday, a lawsuit filed by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, which called the giveaway an “illegal lottery scheme,” was sent back to state court in Pennsylvania by a federal judge, despite Musk’s insistence that the case should be heard in federal court.