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Elon Musk targets Oscars’ diversity standards: ‘The nominations should be solely based on merit, not…’

Elon Musk criticised the Representation and Inclusion Standards of the Academy, regarding the Best Picture category at the Oscars.

Musk has questioned the Academy's efforts for inclusion.

Billionaire Elon Musk has voiced his criticism for the representation and inclusion standards set by the Academy for nominations at the Oscars. The 97th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby theatre in Los Angeles. Now, Elon Musk’s remarks about the Academy’s strategy to promote more inclusion in the process of storytelling have led to controversy.

Musk took to his X account and reposted a document which listed out the ‘Representation and Inclusion Standards’ given by the Academy. Musk wrote, “This is messed up. Should just be who is best, not who is best with an asterisk.”

This is messed up. Should just be who is best, not best with an asterisk! https://t.co/Q2edmvekm4

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2025

Musk had targetted Oscars in 2024 as well when Oppenheimer emerged as the Best Picture winner. “Winning an Oscar now just means you won the woke contest,” he said on X. In another post, he had written, “When an award is diluted, everyone knows, including those who received it, and it no longer commands respect.”

What are the Representation and Inclusion Standards?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have set certain rules for movies, which want to be considered for the Best Picture category. RAISE was implemented in 2020 and has been amended many times since then. The rules dictate the films to include members of underrepresented groups. These include African-American, Hispanic, disabled, women, LGBTQ+ and many more.

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The set of regulations have sparked controversy many times since its inception. While many argue that these rules are important for representation, many say that these rules create a bigger gap between the ones with agency and the ones who do not.

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