Elon Musk’s fellowship of the Royal Society remains intact after a meeting of the scientific body, the Guardian has learned, but questions remain about whether further action will be taken.

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who also owns the social media platform X, was elected a fellow of the UK’s national academy of sciences in 2018, apparently in recognition of his work in the space and electric vehicle industries.

Calls for the honour to be revoked have grown in recent months, as fellows of the Royal Society and the wider scientific community become increasingly alarmed by Musk’s conduct in relation to the academy’s code.

Two eminent scientists have resigned their fellowships in protest against the lack of action by the Royal Society, while more than 3,400 members of the wider scientific community have signed an open letter organised by Stephen Curry, an emeritus professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, expressing similar dismay.

Earlier on Monday, the Nobel laureate and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton – a fellow of the Royal Society – posted on X that he supported Musk’s removal.

“I think Elon Musk should be expelled from the British Royal Society. Not because he peddles conspiracy theories and makes Nazi salutes, but because of the huge damage he is doing to scientific institutions in the US. Now let’s see if he really believes in free speech,” he wrote.

Musk responded: “Only craven, insecure fools care about awards and memberships. History is the actual judge, always and forever. Your comments above are carelessly ignorant, cruel and false. That said, what specific actions require correction? I will make mistakes, but endeavor to fix them.”

Concerns include Musk’s incendiary comments – such as calling the British MP Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, a “rape genocide apologist”.

“I am at a loss to understand how these actions are consistent with a code of conduct that requires fellows to have ‘due regard for the statement of values developed from time to time by [the Royal] Society’,” Curry wrote in the letter.

Scientists have also raised concerns over Musk’s actions within the Trump administration, where he oversees the US “department of government efficiency”. The cost-cutting operation has threatened the funding of scientific and medical communities, among other areas.

The meeting of the fellowship of the Royal Society, which began at 6pm on Monday, was arranged to discuss the principles around public pronouncements and behaviour of fellows.

The Royal Society’s code of conduct and disciplinary regulations state: “Fellowship and foreign membership of the society is a privilege predicated on adherence to particular standards of conduct.”

Among other points, the document says: “When speaking or publicising statements in a personal capacity, fellows and foreign members must still strive to uphold the reputation of the society and those who work in it, and be mindful that what is said or stated in a personal capacity could still impact the society.”

After the meeting, the Royal Society released a statement saying the fellows agreed on the need to stand up for science and for scientists around the world in the face of the growing challenges science faces.

“Concern was expressed, in particular, about the fate of colleagues in the US who are reportedly facing the prospect of losing their jobs amid threats of radical cutbacks in research funding,” it said. “Fellows, over 150 of whom attended tonight’s meeting, were united in the need for the society to step up its efforts to advocate for science and scientists at a time when these are under threat as never before and yet at the same time have never been more necessary for humanity at large.

“The society agreed to look at potential further actions that might help make the case for science and scientific research and counter the misinformation and ideologically motivated attacks on both science and scientists.”

No mention was made of Musk’s fellowship.

“Any issues raised in respect of individual fellows are dealt with in strict confidence,” a spokesperson said, adding that all of the fellows are listed on the society’s website. Musk remains among their number.

Curry said questions remained. “It’s still not clear from their statement whether they stand by their code of conduct or whether they feel that they are ever going to enforce it,” he said, adding it is also unclear what action will be taken to advocate for science and scientists.

“I think one of the things that this episode really has exposed is that the Royal Society claims to speak for the scientific community, but they’re not very good at speaking to the scientific community.”