He’s sent rocket ships into space, revolutionized the auto industry, and wants to power the world with solar power: but judging from his first foray into comedy, Elon Musk shouldn’t give up the day jobs just yet.
Musk, 49, is hosting Saturday Night Live on May 8, a controversial decision that has prompted a huge backlash against the polarizing multi-billionaire.
After the announcement, cast members Bowen Yang and Aidy Bryant posted snarky Instagram Stories taking aim at Musk, who is worth an estimated $173 billion.
Undeterred, Musk spent Saturday tweeting cringeworthy suggestions for SNL skits he could take part in – and encouraging his legion of fans to suggest their own ideas.
‘Throwing out some skit ideas for SNL. What should I do?’ Musk asked.
‘Irony Man – defeats villains using the power of irony,’ Musk Tweeted.
‘Baby Shark & Shark Tank merge to form Baby Shark Tank,’ was another.
He also suggested ‘Woke James Bond’.
Several Saturday Night Live cast members have aimed sly digs at Elon Musk in their Instagram stories, expressing annoyance that the Tesla CEO has been selected to host the show
‘Throwing out some skit ideas for SNL. What should I do?’ Musk asked his 52 million followers on Twitter
‘Irony Man – defeats villains using the power of irony’, was one joke he suggested
Musk, who has a reputation for his unfiltered Twitter feed, wrote: ‘Baby Shark & Shark Tank merge to form Baby Shark Tank’
Musk Tweeted: ‘Woke James Bond’. It was unclear if this was another idea for a joke
The Tweets provoked a wave of suggestions from Musk’s 52 million followers on Twitter.
One person suggested he do a skit on ‘The Dogefather’, a reference to the Dogecoin cryptocurrency whose price has soared since it was first championed by Musk.
‘Definitely’, Musk replied.
Musk’s sprawling business empire includes Tesla, the electric car pioneers, SpaceX, which promises to colonize Mars, and believes he can build solar power capabilities to power the entire planet.
The serial entrepreneur, who has amassed a personal wealth of about $173 billion, has proved to be a controversial choice for host for the May 8 show.
There have been early signs of tension between the long-running show’s core cast members and Musk.
Musk has referred to himself as ‘The Dogefathger’: a reference to dogecoin cryptocurrency
One person suggested he take hard drugs with Joe Rogan, a reference to the time Musk smoked marijuana on the famous podcast
Musk signals his support for a skit on The Dogefather
Earlier this week, Musk, known for his unique banter on Twitter, tweeted: ‘Let’s find out how live Saturday Night Live really is.’
Yang posted the tweet on Stories with the response ‘what the f*** does this even mean’.
And hours after the hosting announcement, Bryant seemed to aim a subtle shot at Musk, the world’s second richest man, by posting an old quote from Senator Bernie Sanders calling it a ‘moral obscenity’ that the 50 richest people in America own more than the bottom half combined.
A source told The New York Post that cast members would not be forced to appear with Musk if they didn’t want to.
‘Speaking historically, if a cast member has been that unhappy, they don’t have to do it,’ a source told on Friday.
They said that Lorne Michaels, the boss of SNL, ‘won’t ever make them do anything they don’t want to do.’
No cast members have pulled out of the show yet, the paper said.
Rehearsals will begin on Tuesday.
The source added: ‘Whether you like him or not, Elon is a very interesting character. He’s very much a showman.’
SNL cast members have been told they will not be forced to appear alongside Musk if they don’t want to
Bowen Yang posted Musk’s tweet on Stories with the response ‘what the f*** does this even mean’ after Musk tweeted: ‘Let’s find out how live Saturday Night Live really is’
Aidy Bryant seemed to aim a subtle shot at Musk, the world’s second richest man, by posting an old quote from Senator Bernie Sanders
Andrew Dismukes, who became a featured player this season after serving as a writer since 2017, also joined in, joking ‘Only CEO I wanna do sketch with is Cher-E Oteri’ in reference to a former SNL star.
The snide remarks were made on Stories that disappear after 24 hours, but eagle-eyed fans took screenshots.
Musk’s selection as host is unusual for Saturday Night Live, which typically taps actors, comedians and other entertainers.
In one notable exception, Donald Trump hosted in November 2015, as he was pursuing his presidential bid, in a move that cast members grew to rue and looked back on as ’embarrassing and shameful’.
Musk’s scheduled May 8 appearance on Saturday Night Live builds upon his recent run of success.
Tesla’s stock is worth nearly six times more than it was before the pandemic started, leaving Musk with an estimated fortune of $177 billion, second only to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, according to Forbes.
Andrew Dismukes, who became a featured player this season, also joined in, joking ‘Only CEO I wanna do sketch with is Cher-E Oteri’ in reference to the former SNL star
And his SpaceX recently a launched a mission that sent astronauts to the International Space Station.
SNL doesn’t make a habit of having business executives host its show, but Musk is far from a stuffy corporate type.
He regularly jokes around on Twitter, where he has nearly 52 million followers and has gotten into legal trouble for making disparaging remarks about critics.
He also once hinted that he might lead a buyout of Tesla, with that nugget resulting in Musk being fined $20 million by stock market regulators.
Miley Cyrus will be the musical guest on the night Musk hosts. Fan reaction to Musk’s selection was largely negative, though it is seen as a lucrative move that will likely draw curious viewers.
Though visionary, Musk has become a controversial figure on account of his out of the box business moves and his often ludicrous Twitter antics.
Though a surefire way to get eyeballs on the screen, many fans took issue with the tech wizard hosting, as they felt he didn’t need more exposure as he boasts a net worth of $177B dollars
He has shot himself in the foot on more than one occasion after going off on everything from his Tesla stock pricing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May 2020 he tweeted: ‘Tesla stock price is too high imo,’ which wiped $14B off the company’s value, as angry people fired back that his statements caused them to lose thousands.
In response to the COVID-19 lockdown he tweeted ‘FREE AMERICA NOW,’ and some began to dub him ‘Elon Mask.’
And the marijuana-toking business mogul jeopardized his business again when he made what he dubbed a joke on the novelty holiday 4/20, writing: ‘Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.’
That tweet garnered a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and required him to pay a $20M settlement fine, in addition to being forced to step down as chairman of Tesla’s board of directors for three years.
