Elon Musk, the enigmatic figure behind SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and more, has captured the public eye with his ambitious ventures and larger-than-life persona. However, Musk has also become a magnet for myths, rumors, and misconceptions. His eccentricity (dare we say... outlandishness?) can make it difficult to separate fact from fiction when it comes to his social media posts.
These five "facts" have been conclusively debunked, but there are undoubtedly plenty more floating around. Let's dive into the sea of misinformation — and if you've seen these myths before, take this as your reminder that since not everyone understands satire, it's always a good idea to verify the source yourself when you see a crazy rumor being shared online.
In 2021, a viral social media post showed a billboard depicting Elon Musk and the words “Defend billionaires. We’re just like you.” However, there’s no evidence that this billboard exists in the real world. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that a meme has shown up in this format, so we’re inclined not to take it too seriously.
Even though he has publicly said that Facebook gives him “the willies,” the SpaceX CEO never offered to buy and delete it. That rumor arose from a satire article published by a satire website. It was the same website that pretended that Musk had also showed a group of investors an animation of a SpaceX rocket pressing a big red button to delete Facebook.
Elon’s father, Errol Musk, did at one point have a stake in an emerald mine, but it was in Zambia, not South Africa. If Elon is to be believed, these emeralds did not pay for his education, either. Elon Musk has said that he amassed $100,000 worth of student loan debt after moving to the U.S.
In 2022, Musk suspended several reporters from Twitter after they allegedly doxxed the location of his private jet, and a fake image of him tweeting that “Banning the reporters I don’t like feels [...] pretty innocuous” began to circulate. However, this tweet never actually appeared on the billionaire’s timeline, so it seems it originated as a joke.
After Musk announced that he would be stepping down from his position as the social media platform’s CEO, a satirical article joked that he was appointing Trump Jr. to take his place. The article circulated so widely that Trump Jr. even tweeted a response, letting people know that it was “fake news.”