Elon Musk, the world’s first—and only—trillionaire, the CEO of Tesla, and a former senior advisor to President Donald Trump, was one of the main talking points at Courier Minnesota’s live candidate forum, held just more than a week before Election Day.
On Monday, Oct. 26, DFL Lt. Gov. and US Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan and DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison answered a range of questions on issues that are top of mind for Minnesotans, including the rising cost of living, corruption, and voting rights. But when asked about AI policy, Musk’s name–as well as others among the Epstein class–was brought into the conversation by both candidates, as they outlined the harm he’s caused Minnesotans and what they plan to do about it.
The recurrent theme was fitting, as both interviews were moderated by independent journalist and trial lawyer Katie Phang. Phang is known not only for her political work, but an April 2026 federal civil lawsuit against Acting US Attorney Todd Blanche. The suit claims the Department of Justice “failed to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act by withholding, redaction, and failing to disclose records related to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.” Phang has also openly criticized Musk for his attempts to influence and buy elections.
You can watch the full conversations from “On the Ballot: Courier Minnesota Live” here.
Ellison’s legal battle against Musk
The event, held at the University of Minnesota’s Campus Club in Minneapolis, began with a discussion between Ellison and Phang. The night’s first mention of Musk occurred when Ellison was asked a pre-recorded question from a community member about how he would protect Minnesota communities from Big Tech’s impact across the state.
Minnesota has seen an increase in data center proposals recently as hyperscale data centers are being built across the country to help power AI workloads. Ellison began by talking about how non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) need to be left out of the picture. A ban on data center proposal NDAs for local municipalities, like cities, was introduced but stalled in the Minnesota House this year.
Ellison then brought up the rapid technological change the US is seeing, and how it’s been led “by people like Elon Musk.” A crowd member made a vomiting noise at Musk’s name and did so throughout the event, with others joining them.
Ellison says he “was done with him [Musk]” after he “did a Hitler salute.” He continued, saying the current tech boom “is not being guided by the most benevolent, altruistic, well-intentioned people.” Ellison then brought up his current litigation with Musk over Grok, Musk’s AI company.
Grok has the ability to “nudify” people using AI and is a platform that, as Ellison said, “that can take your real-life face, and attach it to a nudified image, and it’s not a static picture, it’s a movie, doing disgusting things.”
Minnesota recently passed a first-of-its-kind law that, beginning on Aug. 1, banned this technology. But Musk’s company, xAI, sued the state three days before the law went into effect, claiming it “imposes an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and the tools of visual expression.”
Ellison said he fought the lawsuit and won in the first two rounds, but Musk went to the “notoriously conservative Eighth Circuit,” which paused the law. He says he will keep fighting this and believes he will win the lawsuit on behalf of Minnesotans.
How Flanagan would fight AI chatbots and Musk
When discussing tech safety, Phang asked Flanagan about her plans to protect children when it comes to the rapid spread of AI. She mentioned a Pew Research study reporting that 64% of teens say they use AI chatbots, and 30% of them say they do this daily.
Flanagan referenced Ellison’s previous remarks about those like Musk who are leaders in the AI and tech industries, saying that “these folks have to be held accountable.” She mentioned that she’s a mom of a 13-year-old, Siobhan, and that “we have to do everything we can do to protect our young people.”
Flanagan pointed out what chatbots do, which is collect data on the people they’re talking to. She also mentioned how young people have “ended their lives” because of the conversations they’re having with AI chatbots. “I can’t even believe that this is something we’re questioning whether or not it should be regulated,” Flanagan said. She advocated for strict regulations when it comes to youth interaction with AI and chatbots.
Phang then asked Flanagan about Grok’s nudification and sexual image-making of women and children, asking how people can be protected online when tools like this are readily available.
Flanagan said this is “another place where elections have consequences,” defending a vote for Democratic attorneys general–like Ellison–who are doing the work to fight for AI regulations. She said it also means Democrats will take back the House and Senate to “hold this administration accountable.”
Flanagan added that Musk needs to be held criminally accountable for his actions, which garnered applause. She said Musk is “buying elections and officials” and demanded publicly funded elections so “one trillionaire can’t come and put his thumb on the scale and then influence the people.”
Flanagan then thanked Phang for her work to release the Epstein Files and demanded that they continue to be released, garnering more applause and hoots from the crowd. She then mentioned the Cornell 7 case and how Trump and “the tech bros he surrounds himself with” are saying the seven men who assaulted a woman will be negatively impacted by the story, adding, “Give me a break.” Flanagan then added how Musk is contributing to the bigger picture here with nudification, saying, “You either believe in women or girls, or not.”
