Did American Idol winner Jamal Roberts turn down a Tesla ad from Elon Musk in an upcoming music video? No, that's not true: A viral article about such a rejection did not name any verifiable sources or offer any quotes to back that up. It also claimed there had been a "media frenzy" about the issue but no media outlets appear to have reported anything about it.
The story appeared in an article (archived here) published by a website just named "News" on May 28, 2025 and was titled "HOLY SHOCKWAVES: American Idol Winner Jamal Roberts Turns Down Elon Musk's Tesla Ad in Upcoming Music Video--The Convincing Reason That Left the World Speechless - News" which opened:
Los Angeles, CA - In a move that has left the entertainment industry, tech moguls, and fans across the globe reeling, newly crowned American Idol champion Jamal Roberts has reportedly rejected a lucrative offer from none other than Elon Musk's Tesla to feature their brand in his highly anticipated debut music video, set for release this July. The reason Roberts gave for this bold decision is being hailed as one of the most sincere and powerful statements in recent pop culture history.
The story claimed there were rumors about Elon Musk offering money for an endorsement deal:
Just days after his win, rumors began swirling that Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind Tesla and SpaceX, had made Roberts an unprecedented offer: a multi-million dollar endorsement deal to wear a Tesla-branded T-shirt in the opening scene of his debut music video. The deal, insiders say, was designed to catapult both Tesla and Roberts into a new stratosphere of visibility, blending the worlds of tech innovation and pop music stardom.
It then said Roberts declined the offer, but did not cite any named sources or report any exact words being spoken:
According to sources close to the production, Roberts stunned his management team, the Idol producers, and even Elon Musk himself by flatly rejecting the offer. Instead of quietly declining, Roberts reportedly insisted on delivering a personal message to Musk--a message so heartfelt and convincing that those present described the room as "utterly silent" by the time he finished.
While the exact words have not been officially released, insiders claim Roberts spoke about the importance of authenticity, the responsibility he feels toward his students and fans, and his desire to use his platform for something "bigger than money or fame."
The article followed a formulaic structure often used in clickbait articles with similar headlines: a person, company or group that is liked or disliked by the intended audience for political or cultural reasons gets (fictionally) punished or rewarded in some way, for example, by losing or gaining a contract, job, endorsement, business deal, award or title or, in this case, by being denied an advertising opportunity.
The story appeared on a site hosted on the domain name noithatnhaxinhbacgiang.com. According to WHOIS data (archived here) it was registered anonymously and the registration was last updated in December of 2024. None of the social media links in the sidebar of the website work and it did not list any authors or publishers. The oldest article on the site is from March 2025 (archived here) and since then it appears to have published over 800 stories indicating it may be part of a content farm or spam network.
The story also claimed there was a "Media Frenzy" over the rejection, saying:
News of Roberts' rejection spread like wildfire, igniting debates on television, radio, and social media. Fans flooded Twitter and Instagram with messages of support, hailing Roberts as "the real deal," "a true role model," and "the hero we didn't know we needed."
However when Lead Stories ran a Google News search for stories mentioning "Jamal Roberts", "Tesla" and "Musk" there were no relevant results at all (archived here), indicating the whole controversy was made up.
The theme of popular entertainers or sports figures turning down Tesla endorsements or gifts from Elon Musk is a popular one in made up clickbait stories, for other examples check reporting by Lead Stories here, here, here and here.
