Why Royal Society wants Musk to resign from his fellowship
What's the story
The Royal Society, the UK's national academy of sciences, has suggested that Elon Musk consider resigning from his fellowship. The suggestion came as a response to Musk's lack of response to requests to help mitigate the Trump administration's attacks on research, according to The Guardian. Musk was elected a fellow in 2018. However, over the past year, there have been calls from other fellows and scientists for action against him due to alleged violations of the academy's code of conduct.
Controversy
Controversies surrounding DOGE
The outcry against Musk also stems from his position as head of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has drastically cut research funding and been accused of censoring academia. Despite these controversies, the Royal Society had decided not to investigate Musk for allegedly violating its code. However, Sir Paul Nurse, the society's president-elect, suggested in May that he should consider resigning his fellowship if he felt unable to help with the issues related to the Trump administration's actions.
Communication breakdown
Musk's initial response to nurse
In March, Nurse had written to Musk about the "extensive damage" being done to science in the US by the Trump administration and asked him to "step in and reverse this tragedy." Musk had responded immediately, stressing his strong commitment to science and asking for specific details regarding Nurse's concerns. However, when further suggestions were made by Nurse on consulting public sector scientists in the US about the impact of these actions, there was no response from Musk.
Resignation suggestion
Nurse's follow-up letter to Musk
On May 20, Nurse sent another letter to Musk raising concerns shared by US scientists, including that "some of the proposed budget reductions appeared nonsensical." In this letter, Nurse suggested Musk consider resigning from his Fellowship if he felt unable to help. However, despite the current president of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith, and Nurse informing him that the substance of their correspondence would be shared with the fellowship, Musk only gave a short reply then.
No action taken
Musk did not address the suggestion
A spokesperson for the Royal Society confirmed that Musk did not address the suggestion to consider resigning from his fellowship. Smith's email to the fellowship stated that "sharp and opposing" differences of views were aired at a previous meeting, but all agreed that global defense of science is the most important activity of the society. Not all fellows supported calls to censure Musk due to concerns that it could raise questions about other fellows with controversial views.
Call for action
'Royal Society has failed to stand by its own code'
Stephen Curry, an emeritus professor at Imperial College London, who organized the earlier open letter, welcomed the correspondence but criticized the academy for not taking a clearer and stronger stance. He said they should have put it to Musk that his fellowship would be terminated if he didn't share their declared values. "I'm afraid once again the Royal Society has failed to stand by its own code of conduct," he added.