Did an authentic photo show Elon Musk dancing in a mesh halter mini-shirt in 2018? No, that's not true: Two AI detection tools found that the image was generated using AI technology. Lead Stories found that the photo was posted in March 2024 -- not in 2018. Furthermore, the account that posted the image provided no evidence to support this photo being real.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) made on Threads on November 27, 2024. It opened:
#ElonMusk prepping for her future #Elonia self
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing this fact check:
(Source: Threads screenshot taken on Fri Nov 29 17:34:07 2024 UTC)
The account posting the image gave no evidence to support this photo's existence. There is no source for the image supposedly taken in 2018 that predates March 1, 2024, when it was also on social media.
A reverse image search using Google (archived here) shows that the photo appeared in a post on X as early as March 1, 2024, with wording that matches the Threads post of November 2024. It read:
Elon doesn't want you to see this (c. 2018, deleted immediately off Cobrasnake archives and resurfaced via Wayback Machine)
This is what the post looked like at the time of this writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Nov 29 18:36:18 2024 UTC)
Created using AI
AI detection tool True Media found "substantial evidence" that the image was generated with AI:
(Source: True Media screenshot taken on Fri Nov 29 17:49:00 2024 UTC)
Hive Moderation, another AI detection tool, concluded that the photo is 99.9 percent "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content."
(Source: Hive Moderation screenshot taken on Mon Dec 2 18:52:58 2024 UTC)
Not in the attributed databases
Cobra Snake is a photography website that sometimes publishes celebrity party photos. The image could not be located on the Wayback Machine's saves of the Cobra Snake Archive, which includes a throwback section labeled "The Cobra Snake Archive."
Lead Stories searched each database and found no record of the supposed Musk photo from 2018 or thereafter.
Lead Stories contacted Cobra Snake for comment and will update this story if a response is received.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims concerning Elon Musk can be found here.
