I think you’ve got it backwards. If we can’t acknowledge that both are bad before talking about banning them, then what justification do we have for banning them?

Mass media are at their core propaganda tools. Their mission is to further the agendas of whoever finances them, they are not driven by the pursuit of truth, justice or anything related such as the defense of privacy.

Can’t we just say that both are bad?

It’s fair to consider them as slurs. If my memory serves me correctly, they are almost always used with a negative connotation or in a context describing “cis-people” as doing something bad. Elon is merely stating the obvious.