Elon Musk has been talking about him lately. A rock legend sent him a somewhat spicy message. Neil Young, an emblematic figure of the North American music scene, took advantage of the charity concert Light Up The Blueskept recently at Los Angelesto reveal an unpublished piece in which he openly criticizes Tesla’s boss. At 79, the singer proves that he has lost none of his committed verve.
The song, entitled Let’s Roll Againbegins as an ironic ode to traditional American car manufacturers. Young calls it Ford, General Motors et Chrysler has “Build something special”a wink supported at a time when the industry served the public interest before technological profits. But very quickly, the tone changes and the message becomes frontal.
“If you are a fascist, take a Tesla. It is electric, whatever “he sings with biting irony. The target is clear. Neil Young reproaches Elon Musk his ambiguous political positioning and his way of cultivating controversies, especially on social networks and via his libertarian positions. Conversely, he encourages Democrats to “Taste their freedom” By choosing other options than the products of an entrepreneur whom he seems to judge dangerous for the company.
This is not the first time that Neil Young has tackled influential figures in the political or economic world. He had already opposed Donald Trumpgoing so far as to prohibit the use of his music during the rallies of the former president. His style, both direct and poetic, continues to be a formidable weapon to denounce what he perceives as modern drifts.
As for Elon Musk, accustomed to criticism from both political and cultural world, he has not yet reacted publicly at this musical stake. But with Let’s Roll Again, Neil Young shows that music can still be a powerful platform to express a basic disagreement, far from ambient conformism.
