Despite calling himself a 'free speech absolutist,' Elon Musk has a history of retaliation against employees and critics

Musk criticized the social networking site for failing to adhere to free speech principles, which he said undermines democracy.

The CEO of the company has a track record of firing employees who disagree with him, and has previously referred to himself as a free speech absolutist.

It seems thatelonmusk is a free speech absolutist unless it involves safety concerns, according to John Bernal, a former employee ofTesla who was fired after posting reviews of the company's autopilot functions on his channel.

The video reviews contained only end- user features, and included footage of the car's autopilot disengaging, which caused Bernal to take control to avoid dangerous situations.

I was fired fromTesla in February because of my YouTube, which was cited as the reason. Even though my uploads are from my personal vehicle off company time or property with software I paid for, Bernal said in a video update posted earlier this month.

Bernal did not reply immediately to Insider's request for comment.

Musk has taken action against public criticism before. According to the Fast Company, Musk found the identity of a would-be anonymous blogger who posted a negative stock analysis ofTesla and contacted their employer, threatening to sue.

The poster deleted his social media accounts and stopped posting.

I don't know what Mr. Musk has to say about me. Montana Skeptic wrote in their farewell post that they did not believe he had a valid legal claim and that they would defend themselves vigorously.

A journalist who had been critical of the Model X launch event was called by Musk personally and had their order canceled.

Former employees have said that they were fired for disagreeing with the CEO, for reporting racist harassment, or for simply being in his way.

Musk has denied allegations of rage-firing employees and says his criticism of Twitter is based on a fundamental belief in freedom of speech. He argued that since the company's posting policy is under the influence of democracy, it is a defacto public town square.

Users are required to follow the terms of service in order to access the platform. First Amendment protections only apply to situations where the government imposes punishment for protected speech.

Musk asked "is a new platform needed?" which, to some, signaled a possibility that the CEO would create a new social media platform.

Insider asked Musk to comment on the article.

The choice of which algorithm to use should be open to everyone, according to Jack Dorsey.