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Charlie Hebdo and Elon Musk Clash Over ICE Cartoon, 2015 Attack References

The exchange spotlights tensions over free expression, immigration enforcement, the legacy of the 2015 massacre.

Overview

  • Charlie Hebdo’s latest cover criticizes U.S. immigration enforcement, depicting an ICE agent dragging a bullet-riddled body identified as Alex Pretti after his killing in Minneapolis on January 24.
  • Elon Musk replied on X on Thursday by calling the cartoon “attardés” and linking to a Grokipedia page about the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks.
  • The weekly answered on Friday with a photomontage showing the Kouachi brothers emerging from a Tesla-style vehicle with a speech bubble reading “Merci Elon!”.
  • Director Riss told AFP the reply aimed to place Musk and the Kouachis “back to back” as different enemies of the paper and rejected what he described as a far-right narrative that conflates migration with terrorism.
  • The posts drew wide attention, with the initial Charlie Hebdo tweet reported at over six million views, and no legal actions or official sanctions have been reported.