Mark Cuban is known as one of the top business executives in the world and maintains an outspoken image on social media, especially when it comes to issues important to the times. Cuban, who just sold a controlling interest in the Dallas Mavericks, checked Elon Musk and the Tesla founder’s criticism of DEI measures in eloquent fashion but that upset some of the MAGA mutts out there.
Mark Cuban, 65, took to X to check Elon Musk and his offhand critique of DEI. Musk wrote, “DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it” to which journalist Ed Krassenstein replied with, “I don’t think DEI is “racism” but it definitely can have some major flaws that should be addressed.”
Musk fired back with “Discrimination on the basis of race, which DEI does, is literally the definition of racism” which prompted Cuban to chime in as the pair debated the finer points of DEI.
A portion of the response from Mark Cuban’s X account:
Let me help you out and give you my thoughts on DEI
1. Diversity
Good businesses look where others don’t, to find the employees that will put your business in the best possible position to succeed.
You may not agree, but I take it as a given that there are people of various races, ethnicities, orientation, etc that are regularly excluded from hiring consideration. By extending our hiring search to include them, we can find people that are more qualified. The loss of DEI-Phobic companies is my gain.
1a. We live in a country with very diverse demographics. In this era where trust of businesses can be hard to come by, people tend to connect more easily to people who are like them. Having a workforce that is diverse and representative of your stakeholders is good for business.
While Cuban’s measured response didn’t attack Musk and offered a solution-based approach, the MAGA stooges and those concerned with the myth of the erasure of the white male and other such nonsense dismissed the businessman’s viewpoints.
On X, we’ve captured reactions from all sides below.
See the full thread of conversation in the reply below.
Let me help you out and give you my thoughts on DEI
1. Diversity
Good businesses look where others don’t, to find the employees that will put your business in the best possible position to succeed.
You may not agree, but I take it as a given that there are people of various… https://t.co/L00fl6ggUD
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 3, 2024
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Photo: Getty