Rock Legend Neil Young Roasts Elon Musk with Song That Calls Tesla ‘F-scist Toy’

In a moment that stunned fans and critics alike, Neil Young lit up the Greek Theater in Los Angeles over the weekend—not just with his iconic guitar licks and raw vocals, but with a razor-sharp protest song aimed directly at tech titan Elon Musk. Unleashing his boldest political statement in years, Young debuted a new track assumedly titled Let’s Roll Again during the Light Up the Blues benefit concert, and it’s already being hailed as one of the most unapologetically provocative moments in recent music history.

While the folk-rock legend has never shied away from mixing his activism with his art, this time he took things even further by turning his attention to Tesla, the electric vehicle giant led by Musk, and linking it with what he perceives as the creeping tide of authoritarianism in modern America.

The song’s lyrics struck like a lightning bolt from the opening line: “Come on Ford, come on GM / Come on Chrysler, let’s roll again.” With these words, Young called upon traditional American automakers to rise from the ashes, reclaim innovation, and reject the hollow flash of Silicon Valley’s empty promises.

But it was what came next that truly set the internet ablaze: a biting line that practically dares Musk to respond. “If you’re a fascist, get a Tesla / It’s electric, it doesn’t matter.” The crowd, momentarily stunned, erupted in a mix of applause, gasps, and bewildered laughter. It was clear that Young wasn’t just strumming chords—he was throwing punches.

The song continued with jabs at “America First” economic policies, making pointed references to the environmental consequences of consumer capitalism and the dire need for a real clean energy movement that doesn’t serve billionaires first. “Build something special, that people need / Build us a safe way for us to live / Build us something that won’t kill our kids / Build us something that runs real clean,” he sang with fire in his voice, channeling not just frustration but a desperate plea to shift the narrative before it’s too late.

Young didn’t stop at Musk. He widened his scope, name-dropping China’s progress in electric vehicles as a wake-up call to an American industry growing complacent under the weight of corporate ego. “Come on America, let’s get in the race / China’s way ahead, they’re making clean cars,” he warned.

His harmonica wailed like a siren over the hills of Los Angeles, mourning not just a lost era of American innovation but the consequences of letting billionaires dictate the future.

The final verse served up a sarcastic twist aimed at political identities: “If you’re a Democrat, taste your freedom / Get whatever you want, taste your freedom.” The crowd seemed torn—half cheering the subversive tone, half puzzled by the ambiguity.

But that’s always been Young’s strength: he doesn’t spoon-feed ideologies. He stirs discomfort, dares interpretation, and demands that people think, not just consume.

Unsurprisingly, the song’s premiere triggered immediate speculation about Musk’s reaction. While the billionaire CEO has remained silent—at least for now—sources close to Tesla report that the mention of the company in such a charged context “irked” Musk, who is already grappling with a disastrous Q1 for Tesla.

The company saw its worst revenue report in years, with stock prices plummeting amid widespread backlash over Musk’s political entanglements and his involvement with Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As more consumers question whether Tesla is truly a beacon of progress or just a tech billionaire’s playground, Young’s song may have hit at precisely the wrong—or right—moment for Musk.

This musical grenade comes on the heels of another controversy. Just weeks before his performance, Neil Young raised eyebrows with a blog post expressing concern that his open criticism of Trump might lead to serious consequences upon returning to the United States after his summer tour in Europe.

“When I go to play music in Europe, if I talk about Donald J. Trump, I may be one of those returning to America who is barred or put in jail to sleep on a cement floor with an aluminum blanket,” he warned, drawing attention to the increasingly aggressive posture of U.S. border policies under the current administration. “That is happening all the time now. Countries have new advice for those returning to America.”

Young’s premonition, his lyrics, and his defiant presence on stage are now being read as part of a broader resistance—not just to right-wing politics, but to the normalization of wealth-powered authoritarianism. And Musk, the eccentric billionaire with 14 children, Twitter outbursts, and a history of blurring the lines between genius and recklessness, now finds himself in an unexpected feud not with a politician or regulator, but with a legend of rock ‘n’ roll.

Even more striking is how the performance of “Let’s Roll Again” unfolded in a space meant for unity and healing. The Light Up the Blues concert, co-founded by Stephen Stills and his family to benefit autism awareness, is usually a moment of reflection and harmony. But Young used the occasion to remind audiences that true peace doesn’t come from silence—it comes from truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.

And as he tore into “Ordinary People” for the first time since 1989, dusting off a sprawling 18-minute track full of working-class fury, it was clear he was ready to dive deep into the political soul of America once again.

That same spirit surged as he closed his five-song set with the evergreen anthem “Rockin’ in the Free World,” a track that now carries even more weight in a world where freedom itself feels contested. With longtime collaborator Stephen Stills at his side, the song didn’t feel like nostalgia—it felt like a battle cry. The crowd sang along, fists raised, tears shed, voices cracked. It wasn’t just a performance; it was an awakening.

As Neil Young prepares for a major tour across Europe and North America—including a headlining spot at Glastonbury 2025—Let’s Roll Again is poised to become more than just a concert opener. It could very well become the anthem of a new resistance, a protest song for an age where cars talk, billionaires run social platforms, and political movements are branded and marketed like fast food.

Young is also the subject of a new tribute album, Heart Of Gold: The Songs Of Neil Young Volume I, released just days before the concert. While most tributes are about looking back, Young’s message is clear: he’s still here, still fighting, still demanding that America do better—not just for him, not for Democrats, not even just against Trump or Musk, but for the future of every child breathing the exhaust of unchecked ambition.

In a music landscape often diluted by commercial interests and algorithmic appeasement, Neil Young has once again reminded us of the raw, inconvenient power of a song. And somewhere in Texas or Twitter headquarters, one can only imagine Elon Musk grinding his teeth—haunted not by a political pundit, but by the sound of an old man with a guitar, a harmonica, and the guts to call him out by name.