Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk arrives at the inauguration ceremony for President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025.
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Elon Musk’s vast fortune may have allowed him to buy unprecedented power over the American government, but it still can’t keep him from being ridiculed by the comedians at “Saturday Night Live.”
The show’s cold opener this weekend started with Donald Trump, played by actor and comedian James Austin Johnson, announcing his latest round of tariffs on countries that are “ripping us off.” That list included South Africa, which the actor said has “never even sent us one good thing,” only for Mike Myers as Elon Musk to run on stage asking “what about me?”
Article continues below this ad
Myers proceeds to awkwardly fumble his hands with a doltish smile on his face as he skewers Musk’s recent spending spree on a Wisconsin Supreme Court race that ultimately went to a liberal judge. “I’m an idiot, I should have just bought Wisconsin,” Myers says.
The sketch then pivots to Musk’s expected departure from the administration. Reports indicate that Musk is rubbing Trump insiders the wrong way as his favorability ratings plummet. The official line from the president is that Musk was never going to serve longer than the 130-day stint his special government employee status allows.
Meanwhile the “SNL” sketch posits that Musk is leaving Washington to tend to his cratering Tesla company and release a new product: the Tesla model V. Myers describes it as “the first electric car in history to be fully self-vandalizing.” The sketch pivots to an ad showing a sedan that will break its own headlights, slash its own tires and graffiti phallic symbols across the car, which sends the Musk character into a nerdy fit of laughter.
Article continues below this ad
Throughout the sketch Myers delivers a fitting portrayal of the tech billionaire’s awkward social reflexes, mixing in a bit of Dr. Evil-esque power with the jokes and social cues of a 14-year-old boy. “SNL” posted the sketch to Musk’s X social network Saturday night where it has received over 800,000 views. Musk responded Saturday night writing on X that “SNL hasn’t been funny in a long time. They are their own parody.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1:05 p.m. on April 6 to correct that Musk responded to the sketch in a Saturday night post to X.
April 6, 2025
