Elon Musk

Did Elon Musk announce a Tesla phone model called "Pi" as of November 26, 2024? No, that's not true: There was no such announcement on either the Tesla website or Tesla's official X profile when this fact check was written. The image shared in a post reporting the "breaking" announcement included digitally manipulated images. The claim appeared in a post…

Did an authentic video show Rachel Maddow crying on air in November 2024 over an Elon Musk meme concerning ownership of MSNBC? No, that's not true: The clip was taken from a June 20, 2018 MSNBC broadcast. Maddow had become emotional while reading a report about babies and young children sent to immigration shelters in South Texas. The claim appeared…

Did NFL player Travis Kelce publicly say he would leave X, calling the platform a "hate machine" and "toxic waste dump"? No, that's not true: As of November 24, 2024, Kelce's account was still on the platform. An advanced search on X did not return any posts supporting his supposed description of the platform. There are no credible reports that…

Did Taylor Swift say Elon Musk is "the first person in history, to be radicalized by his own algorithm"? No, that's not true: A psychology professor at the University of Cambridge claimed credit for the quote after it went viral in mid-November 2024. Lead Stories found no obvious sign that the singer had made such a comment after searching Swift's…

Did Comcast announce in November 2024 that it was selling MSNBC? No, that's not true: According to the corporation's press release and other news reports, Comcast only announced moving some of its assets, including MSNBC, into a separate independent publicly traded entity. No credible media organization confirmed the rumor about the sale of MSNBC, with that rumor being elevated by…

Did Elon Musk announce in November 2024 that Tesla was launching a $10,000 home to provide more affordable housing? No, that's not true: The Tesla CEO made no such announcement on the company website nor through his account on X. Similar claims of a "Tesla House" go back years, though there has been no such announcement. This claim appeared in…

Did Elon Musk state that X accounts that called him "fat" or "The First Lady" would be "suspended without warning"? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Musk ever made such a post. There are still posts calling him those phrases on the platform. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads on November 20, 2024.…

Is Elon Musk so rich that he could give every person on Earth $1 billion and still have $172 billion left over? No, that's not true: A post that says this on social media puts Musk's wealth at $180 billion, which means he'd be broke after giving just 180 people $1 billion. Forbes magazine estimates Musk's actual net worth at…

Did Elon Musk permanently ban LGBTQ+ Pride content from X because "protecting kids comes first"? No, that's not true: The account that posted this incorrect information is from a self-described satirical Facebook page that explains, "We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real." The word "SATIRE" is at the end of the post's caption. Lead Stories could not find…

Did Elon Musk sue TV show "The View" and co-host Whoopi Goldberg for $70 million because "They Lie About Me"? No, that's not true: This originated from SpaceX Fanclub, a Facebook page with a clear disclaimer that states, "We post SATIRE, nothing on this page is real." That has not prevented other pages from picking up the story and republishing…