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Elon Musk and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a falling out this week after his takeover of Twitter.
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After actor Mark Ruffalo got involved, Musk told him not to believe everything the lawmaker says.
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Ocasio-Cortez had accused Musk of tampering with her account because she said something he didn’t like.
Tesla billionaire Elon Musk tweeted Saturday to actor Mark Ruffalo not to believe everything Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says, ending a week of conflict between the congresswoman and the new owner of Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, criticized Musk on Wednesday after saying he planned to charge Twitter users $8 a month for authentication and other special features.
“Lmao at a billionaire who is seriously trying to sell people the idea that ‘freedom of speech’ is actually an $8 a month subscription,” she said tweetedasks for a short answer from Musk: “Your feedback is appreciated, pay $8 now.”
The feud continued as Musk made a screenshot of Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign merchandise with a $58 sweatshirt price tag circled. She responded by saying its employees are union members and calling Musk a “union breaker with an ego problem.”
Ocasio-Cortez later said she had “easy” issues with her Twitter account after the exchanges with Musk. In a tweetshe accused Musk of blocking her account for saying something he didn’t like and questioning his stated commitment to free speech.
Mark Ruffalo got involved on Friday, retweet Ocasio-Cortez and Musk beg to leave Twitter: “Elon. Please – for the sake of decency – leave Twitter, give the keys to someone who does this as a real job, and continue running Tesla and SpaceX. You are destroying your credibility. It just doesn’t look right.”
Musk responded Thursday, turning to Ocasio-Cortez again: “Hot take: Not everything AOC says is correct.”
Ruffalo, who is also an activist and has advocated for a number of liberal causes over the years, tweeted back: “Maybe.”
That’s why having robust mis/misinformation filters and credible verified users is a popular feature for both people and advertisers. like you. And people are leaving,” he said.
Musk and Ocasio-Cortez have clashed many times in the past, including over unionization and freedom of expression. But other public figures have also raised concerns about potential changes to content moderation, and have spoken out against plans to charge $8 per month for the updated Twitter Blue subscription, which started rolling out as early as Saturday.
Earlier this week, Musk exchanged tweets with author Steven King, who made an initial suggestion for the $20 per month subscription fee. Other celebrities, including producer Shonda Rhimes and singer Sara Bareilles, announced they were leaving the app shortly after Musk’s acquisition last week.
An Ocasio-Cortez representative did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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