Elon Musk has been fiercely roasted online over his ‘manipulative and overly-calculated’ move while he was out with his close pal Donald Trump over the weekend.
The billionaire Tesla founder, 53, joined the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States at a UFC event in New York City on Saturday.
But Elon faced immense scrutiny online after a ‘cringe-worthy’ moment between him and Donald, 78, was caught on camera and shared to X, formerly Twitter, where it went viral.
The clip showed the mogul looking down at his phone as he sat next to the political figure.
Something funny must have caught his eye because Elon erupted in laughter, covering his face with his hand as he cackled dramatically.
But a straight-faced Trump, who was looking away, didn’t react to Elon’s sudden outburst.
Instead, he pointed towards the ring, seeming to direct the businessman’s attention back to the fight.
An X user named Sawyer Merritt shared the video on the platform and it sparked backlash for Elon.
Elon Musk has been fiercely roasted online over his ‘manipulative and overly-calculated’ move while he was at a UFC event with his close pal Donald Trump over the weekend
Elon, 53, faced immense scrutiny online after a ‘cringe-worthy’ moment between him and Donald, 78, was caught on camera and shared to X, formerly Twitter, where it went viral
The clip showed the mogul looking at his phone as he sat next to Trump when something funny must have caught his eye. He erupted in laughter, covering his face with his hand
One person claimed his ‘exaggerated laugh’ was an attempt to ‘bait Trump into asking what he was laughing at,’ while branding it ‘unsubtle and icky.’
‘Not demure or mindful at all,’ another user wrote, while a third agreed, ‘He was trying way too hard with that one.’
‘Ick oh my God,’ a fourth comment read.
A fifth said, ‘It was like watching a bad improv skit.’
‘Awkwardly transparent tactic, cringe-worthy execution, lacking finesse or subtlety entirely,’ a different person scathed.
‘Yeah, that forced laugh was like a cheap attempt at getting attention. It wasn’t funny, it was just uncomfortable and pretty transparent too,’ someone else slammed.
‘That laugh felt manipulative and overly-calculated,’ another post said.
Others, however, were quick to defend Elon against the hate.
The clip sparked backlash for Elon on X, as one person claimed his ‘exaggerated laugh’ was an attempt to ‘bait Trump into asking what he was laughing at’ and branded it ‘unsubtle and icky’
Others, however, were quick to defend Elon against the hate
‘Or, wait for it, he saw something he found funny,’ one person wrote.
‘What, you’ve never laughed at something before?’ asked another.
‘Can’t just let a man laugh now, huh?’ someone else stated.
Elon and Donald have grown extremely close in recent months, despite the SpaceX CEO previously speaking out against him.
Elon was a registered Democrat and voted for Barack Obama in 2008, 2012, and, in 2022, and once declared that Donald was too old to be president.
But by 2024, he had publicly clashed with Democratic leaders and had become a vocal supporter of Trump, ultimately contributing $120 million to a pro-Trump PAC and emerging as one of Trump’s most influential backers.
Since then, the two have been spotted hanging out on numerous occasions, and Elon was by his side on election night in 2024, when he found out he had won against Kamala Harris.
