HUMZA YOUSAF has revealed that he considered suing Elon Musk for defamation after the US billionaire called him a “blatant racist”, but decided against legal action because he feared a court battle would become a distraction from his work as Scotland’s first minister.
Yousaf disclosed the details in his forthcoming book Under Fire, an extract of which was published by The Sunday Times (27).
According to the newspaper, Yousaf discussed the possibility of taking legal action with his lawyer Aamer Anwar after Musk attacked him on X, in October 2023. Senior counsel was then consulted and, Yousaf said, advised that there was a potential case.
However, he decided not to proceed.
“It was pretty clear there was a case there, but it would be an absolute distraction from the job I had to do as first minister,” Yousaf told the Times.
He said a legal dispute could also have given Musk and his views further attention.
Musk attack came during Gaza crisis
The exchange took place at a particularly difficult period for Yousaf, whose wife Nadia’s parents were trapped in Gaza following the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Yousaf wrote that his chief of staff, Colin McAllister, contacted him while Nadia was deeply worried about her parents during a communications blackout in Gaza.
McAllister told him that Musk had posted a video of a speech Yousaf had delivered at Holyrood in 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, and described him as a “blatant racist”.
In the speech, Yousaf had highlighted what he described as the dominance of white people in senior positions across Scottish public life.
Yousaf initially responded on social media with a humorous GIF from the Scottish sitcom Still Game. But he said Musk’s post was followed by a large volume of racist abuse directed at him.
He recalled receiving comments telling him to return to Pakistan and other messages containing threats.
The dispute did not end with Musk’s initial attack. The billionaire later described Yousaf as a “super racist scumbag” and accused him of disliking white people.
Yousaf says legal battle would have dragged on
Yousaf said he remained angry about Musk’s intervention but ultimately decided that taking him to court was not worth the disruption.
“Without a doubt, there was at least a case,” he said, while acknowledging that defamation proceedings can have uncertain outcomes because of the importance of freedom of expression.
“But I think it would have just dragged on and been a saga and distraction that I didn’t require,” he said.
Musk subsequently challenged Yousaf to sue him. In 2024, he responded to reports of possible legal action by writing “go ahead, make my day”.
Yousaf later described Musk as “one of the most dangerous men on the planet” and accused him of using his influence to fuel divisions in Europe.
Book looks beyond the Musk dispute
The former first minister's book also examines his time in office, including the experience of having his parents-in-law trapped in Gaza.
Elizabeth El-Nakla and Maged El-Nakla eventually escaped after spending about four weeks in the territory. Yousaf has said that there were several occasions when he and his wife feared they had been killed.
According to the Sunday Times, Yousaf remains supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although he believes the prospects of achieving one are diminishing.
He also defended his government's decision to introduce a 48p top rate of income tax in Scotland from April 2024, despite subsequent analysis suggesting that changes in taxpayer behaviour could have reduced the additional revenue generated.
Yousaf said decisions on taxation had to be based on the evidence available to ministers at the time and maintained that those earning the most should contribute more.
The former SNP leader stepped down as first minister in 2024 and later left frontline Holyrood politics. Under Fire is due to be formally published next week.
