In a bizarre move Elon Musk took to the stage with Dave Chappelle at a comedy gig in San Francisco this weekend to a chorus of boos, and little in the way of repartee.
Chappelle, a superstar comedian no stranger to controversy himself, welcomed Musk to the stage at the end of his three-hour act Sunday night, encouraging thousands of folks at the Chase Center stadium to “make some noise for the richest man in the world.”
Elon strode on, raised his hands in the air, and the crowd did as it was told, but it wasn’t the noise Musk nor Chappelle were perhaps happy with.
“Weren’t expecting this, were you?” Musk asked Chappelle.
“It sounds like some of those people you fired are in the audience,” Chappelle responded, who joked that it appeared most of the boos were coming from the cheap seats.
Despite a ban on cellphones in the stadium, videos of Musk’s embarrassing cameo quickly surfaced online, in which the crowd’s reaction can be heard pretty clearly. They weren’t happy, tho the SpaceX and Tesla tycoon insists the majority of the crowd were on his side, natch.
Technically, it was 90 percent cheers & 10 percent boos (except during quiet periods), but, still, that's a lot of boos, which is a first for me in real life (frequent on Twitter).It's almost as if I've offended SF's unhinged leftists … but nahhh.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2022
Musk claimed this morning “it was 90% cheers & 10% boos (except during quiet periods), but, still, that’s a lot of boos, which is a first for me in real life (frequent on Twitter).” The billionaire also made a reference to San Francisco’s “unhinged Leftists” being present, which doesn’t quite make sense as it was a Dave Chappelle gig.
You can judge for yourselves if Musk’s estimate is correct from the video below.
Some in the audience said there were cheers … albeit amid an audible outpouring of disapproval.
“This n****r is not even trying to die on Earth,” Chapelle said as the boos continued. “His whole business model is ‘Fuck Earth, I’m leaving anyway.'”
“What should I say,” a visibly uncomfortable Elon asked.
“Don’t say nothing. It’ll only spoil the moment,” Chappelle replied.
Twitter’s latest owner and CEO has been courting an increased amount of controversy since buying the social media platform in October, and spent this past weekend dialing up the incendiary statements.
Musk described Twitter as “Wormtongue to the world,” referencing the Lord of the Rings character known for poisoning the mind of the king of Rohan, and posted a photo of Dr Anthony Fauci’s face superimposed on the character, with President Joe Biden replacing the king. Musk also tweeted that “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci,” escalating his conflict with the US government over lockdowns that Musk has long argued hurt his businesses.
Whether the reaction from the crowd was due to Twitter layoffs in the Californian city or beyond, or his antics over the weekend, is unclear. Maybe it’s just that he’s not as popular as he thinks he is.
Either way, the awkward Sunday encounter will likely only give Elon another reason to pack up and leave San Francisco and take Twitter with him. Whether that move will help or hurt remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: Musk’s public behavior isn’t doing his only public company, Tesla, any favors.
Tesla shares started the year just a few cents shy of $400 a piece; as of writing they’re worth less than $167. So far this year. That’s going to make a lot of investors, and not a few employees, rather unhappy.
Elon, normally verbose when hiding behind the written word, was forced to confront a reality that isn’t as in love with his behavior as he is when on stage with Chappelle. His silence at that moment was rare, and begs the question as to whether he would learn anything from it.
“Don’t say nothing. You hear that sound, Elon? That’s the sound of pending civil unrest,” Chappelle told Musk.
“The woke mind virus is either defeated or nothing else matters,” Musk tweeted on Monday morning, followed by: “The Branch Covidians are upset lol.” There’s our answer. ®
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