Elon Musk is facing calls from Canadians to get his citizenship revoked.
More than 283,000 Canadians have signed a petition asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to revoke Musk’s citizenship and passport, after engaging in “activities that go against the national interest of Canada”.
The petition also states that he is joining a “foreign government that is attempting to erase Canadian sovereignty” and is using his “wealth and power to influence our elections”, referencing the billionaire’s ownership of social media platform X.
It comes as shares in Musk’s Tesla business have slumped by 9% after EU and UK sales fell by almost half in January.
Tesla sales fell more than 45% in the EU, EFTA, and the UK, despite European electric car sales trends, which grew by more than a third in January, according to trade body Acea.
Responding to the petition, which sponsored by member of Canadian Parliament Charlie Angus, Musk wrote on social media, “Canada is not a real country”.
The petition needed 500 signatures to be able to be presented in the House of Commons, the lower house of the Canadian Parliament.
An expert on citizenship and immigration said it is highly unlikely his citizenship can be revoked, as it is largely restricted to fraud cases, but Irene Bloemraad said it reflects “many Canadians’ dismay and outrage”.
Musk has acted as Trump’s right-hand man while the President enforced 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, and claimed that Washington’s neighbour should become the United States’ 51st state.
Large grocery stores began labelling the country of origin of their goods to help customers make informed choices, while bumper stickers started appearing on Teslas, stating: “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy”.
Musk, who was born in South Africa and holds Canadian and US citizenship, oversees the U.S. DOGE Service (United States Digital Service), which has fired thousands of government employees as part of spending cuts.
