Nicki Minaj Thanks Elon Musk For ‘Saving Free Speech’

The Queens rapper gave the controversial Tesla CEO major kudos on his birthday.

Nicki Minaj speaks at a podium beside a microphone during a Treasury Department summit in Washington, DC.
Nicki Minaj speaks during the Treasury Department's Trump Accounts Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Nicki Minaj posted kudos to Elon Musk on the controversial billionaire's birthday. The rap superstar wished Musk a happy birthday on X (formerly known as Twitter) while praising the Tesla CEO as a savior of free speech. 

"Thank you for saving free speech, Elon," Minaj wrote in her post, also including a smiling selfie of the pair together. "Happy Birthday 🎉🎉🎉 Love always 🤎 From Gag City & the Barbz!"

Musk purchased Twitter in 2022 and renamed the platform X, saying that he set out to destroy "the woke mind virus." He completed the acquisition after Twitter sued him to enforce the merger agreement, before a Delaware court could rule on the lawsuit. 

The “Beez In the Trap” rapper has been praising Elon Musk consistently. In May, Minaj made an appearance at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, during the company’s livestream for its planned first Starship V3 test flight, which was scrubbed and launched the next day.

"Major shout out to Elon,” Minaj said during the event. “Thank you for everything you're doing for humanity." She then encouraged the Barbz to tune in for what she called a historic moment. After the launch’s technical issues, Minaj congratulated SpaceX after it launched a successful mission the next day. 

"Let's Go @SpaceX!!! You guys are pretty freaking amazing. Wow. Congratulations on the successful launch — and to many, MANY more," she posted.

Her Musk praise is the latest in Minaj’s growing public alignment with right-wing personalities and platforms. Over the past year, she’s become a regular fixture at events for President Trump and she made an appearance at a Turning Point USA rally in late December 2025. 

“Well, I have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,” Minaj said at the time when asked about her support for Trump. “He has, I don’t know if he even knows this, but he’s given so many people hope that there’s a chance to beat the bad guys and to win and to do it with your head held high and your integrity intact. He’s from Queens, New York, like me.”

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