Elon Musk And Trump: Tesla, SpaceX CEO Defends His Decision To Stay On President's Advisory Council Despite Criticism

Tech tycoon Elon Musk, a member of President Donald Trump's economic advisory council, took to Twitter Saturday and insisted that he is "doing good" by advising the president, adding that quitting the council “would be wrong.” The forty-five-year-old tech billionaire also said that he was able to steer the council agenda to focus on issues such as immigration and climate change.

"At my request, the agenda for yesterday's White House meeting went from not mentioning the travel ban to having it be first and foremost…there has already been and there will be progress on this matter," Musk said, while referring to Trump's travel restrictions against seven Muslim-majority nations.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also added that the travel ban needs to be "addressed on all fronts: judicial, legislative and executive." His most recent comments are consistent with what he said regarding the ban on Jan.28.

“The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country’s challenges...Many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US. They've done right, not wrong & don't deserve to be rejected,” he said at the time.

Musk, like some of the other 17 business leaders on Trump's advisory council has been on the receiving end of public ire. Criticism from anti-Trump activists even led Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to drop out. Kalanick explained that he didn’t want his seat on the council to be "misinterpreted" as him backing Trump's agenda.

Uber also received public criticism shortly after the imposition of the Jan. 27 travel ban, as it sparked public outrage by continuing its business as usual, even though taxi drivers began boycotting the New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where immigrants were being detained. More than 200,000 people reacted by deleting their Uber accounts.

However, unlike Travis Kalanick, Musk does not think that he should relieve himself of his duties. "I believe this is doing good, so will remain on council & keep at it. Doing otherwise would be wrong," Musk tweeted.

Following Musk’s tweets Saturday, Twitter users began criticizing his choice to collaborate with the Trump administration.

“@elonmusk not sure, though, to spend time on politics is the right way. Especially when you stayed away from it by your own choice before,” one user tweeted at Musk.

"[I] really don't want to get in politics. I just want to help invent and develop technologies that improve lives. Feels so bizarre," he responded.