Twitter reacts with anger as tech CEOs offer to reach out to Trump over immigration ban

Elon Musk says he wants to help.

On Saturday, the famous entrepreneur tweeted a mild rebuke of a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump that temporarily blocked immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries before part of the order itself was blocked by a federal judge. On Sunday, Musk tweeted an offer to bring specific complaints about the order to the president.

Musk, a new business advisor to Trump, does have that kind of access.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

But some of the most lauded responses to Musk's offer voiced speculation about the idea and anger over Musk's willingness to acquiesce to any of the demands made in the order, which threw into doubt the legal status of immigrants from Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Somalia.

Musk has recently taken to attempting compromise with the administration, even when a recent compromise seems to grate against some of his deepest beliefs. He recently endorsed Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who until recently was the CEO of ExxonMobil, a massive oil and gas company. Historically, Musk has been a clean energy crusader, and in October 2016, he said, "We need to do everything we possibly can to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy."

Such is the awkwardness made public by trying to walk a tightrope between diametrically opposed ideas.

And Musk is hardly the only CEO struggling to pull off a balancing act. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick spent his Sunday trying to douse a public relations inferno after Saturday gave rise to a roaring backlash against his ride-sharing company that stemmed from a "strike-breaking" accusation. Uber continued to service New York City's John F. Kennedy airport on Saturday during an hour-long strike called by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance as a form of protest against Trump's immigration ban. A social campaign around #DeleteUber popped up and took off.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Uber's ride-sharing rival, Lyft, also kept up service during the taxi strike, but #DeleteUber gained traction after Uber tweeted about removing surge pricing around JFK International Airport, letting its followers know they were operating at the strike location. Lyft saw an opening and quickly pledged $1 million to the ACLU over the next four years. The ACLU successfully argued for a block on the Trump administration's immigration ban on Saturday night, which was awarded by a federal judge in New York City (though reports suggest not all customs officials are complying with the judge's order).

Kalanick has since tried to ease the outrage of customers. In a statement issued on Saturday, he said the company was working to identify drivers from the seven countries mentioned in the order, and provide them with compensation for the duration of the 90-day ban. Then, in a statement posted to Facebook on Sunday, Kalanick shared what he said was an email he had sent to Uber drivers.

Here’s what Uber will do:- Provide 24/7 legal support for drivers who are trying to get back into the country. Our lawyers and immigration experts will be on call 24/7 to help. - Compensate drivers for their lost earnings. This will help them support their families and put food on the table while they are banned from the US; - Urge the government to reinstate the right of U.S. residents to travel - whatever their country of origin - immediately; - Create a $3 million legal defense fund to help drivers with immigration and translation services.

Kalanick, who is an economic advisor to the president, also said he would urge Trump to reconsider the order in a meeting on Feb. 3.

Much like the reaction to Musk's olive branch, most of the retweeted responses to Kalanick's tweet were those expressing skepticism.

We'll see what happens this coming Friday.