What did Elon Musk say about California? Gavin Newsom accuses Tesla owner of lying about decriminalizing looting

Elon Musk and Gavin Newsom have been at loggerheads with one another on social media. It goes back to January 12, 2025, when Musk reposted a video where Newsom stated the zero-tolerance policy for looters during the LA wildfires.

The original post, which had the latter’s interview statement, alleged that the governor and the Democrats in California had previously decriminalized looting but became stringent about the activity after the wildfires. Elon Musk was not explicit about his thoughts regarding the matter but reshared the video with a clown and an earth emoji.

While answering the reporter's question, Gavin Newsom said:

“We have to keep people safe. No room, zero-tolerance for looting. That’s why these guys are out here and very grateful for them, particularly these critical checkpoints that allow law enforcement to do more and do interior work.”

However, the governor quickly responded to Elon Musk’s post and said it was a lie that he had decriminalized looting. Whether his statement was directed towards Musk or the original post is unknown. Gavin Newsom wrote:

“Stop encouraging looting by lying and telling people it’s decriminalized. It’s not. It’s illegal -- as it always has been. Bad actors will be arrested and prosecuted.”

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, as many as 20 individuals have been arrested on accounts of possible looting. The Sheriff’s Department kept vigilance to prevent looting and other criminal activities. Robert Luna, LA Country Sherrif, mentioned that people who stayed back despite an evacuation order in place would be held accountable for misdemeanors.

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Gavin Newsom said firefighters exposed Elon Musk

On January 13, 2025, Gavin Newsom shared another post where Elon Musk was seen conversing with firefighters. The video, which appears to be shot with a low-quality camera, begins with Musk asking the firefighter about water availability during their dousing operations.

Musk said there was no issue with water availability in Malibu but asked whether it was true. The firefighter then showed a screen with a map of the operation. He said water was available but gave an example of one burning building. The firefighter mentioned they could easily use 1000 gallons for each burning building. However, he added:

“So, the amount of water we are flowing, there really is no water system that’s gonna keep that pace so we have to bring in water tenders.”

The tenders included water tanks worth 2500- and 3000-gallon capacity. He said that was what they had to do to overcompensate. Elon Musk then said there was no water shortage in Malibu, but Palisades faced some difficulty. Gavin Newsom shared the video with the caption:

“@ElonMusk exposed by firefighters for his own lies.”

The back and forth between the two has been going on for quite some time. In an X post shared by the page “Tesla Owners Silicon Valley” on January 12, 2025, Gavin Newsom was accused of not having any accountability or transparency about the wildfire incident.

The post included a video where the governor said he wanted responses about the incident but was getting different answers. Elon Musk reposted the video with the caption ‘Goodbye Gavin.’