Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, responding to President Donald Trump’s tweet that the president is a “dumb—” is a fake tweet. Following the launch of Falcon Heavy by Musk’s SpaceX, Trump issued congratulations on the “American ingenuity” of the Falcon Heavy rocket. Contrary to a fabricated tweet, Musk did not respond by insulting the president in a nod to the immigration debate.
The New York Times reported that the launch of this turbocharged version of the workhorse Falcon 9 rocket marks an important milestone in spaceflight, the first time a rocket this powerful has been sent into space by a private company rather than a government space agency. After that achievement, Trump was one of the high-profile figures who praised Musk and his company for the launch.
However, a fabricated tweet soon was shared and went viral on social media. In that fake tweet, Musk, who was born in South Africa, allegedly calls Trump a “dumb—.”
Here are some examples of people sharing the fake tweet on social media.
You dumbass @realDonaldTrump 😂😂😂
…. brilliant @elonmusk 👏👏👍🏻#Shithole #Africa pic.twitter.com/qbJ0cScW3I— Heinz (@TheSaint720) February 10, 2018
There’s a screenshot being sent around on WhatsApp of @elonmusk rightfully calling @realDonaldTrump a dumbass. Twitter doesn’t seem to have a record of it… 😏 pic.twitter.com/txk1ZTLqrO
— Kananelo Sexwale (@kaysexwale) February 10, 2018
Musk did not send this tweet, and the image is a fabrication. In fact, Musk graciously accepted Trump’s congratulations, in a tweeted response:
Thank you on behalf of SpaceX. An exciting future lies ahead!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2018
Snopes reported that that the tweet is fake. That site explained that the fake tweet was shared on Facebook by the liberal Blue Tsunami page. Blue Tsunami later deleted the image and apologized for posting it. However, by then, many people shared it on social media despite the tweet being fake.
The fake tweet is grounded in the current ongoing negotiations between Congressional Democrats, Republicans and Trump’s administration over his proposed border wall, and the fate of the “Dreamers,” immigrants brought to the United States as children by parents who did not have legal immigration status, and who are thus caught in legal limbo.
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Before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Musk told CNBC, “[Trump] doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States.” However, Musk would serve on Trump’s business advisory councils before quitting over Trump’s rejection of the Paris climate agreement. Space exploration and interplanetary travel is obviously a priority for Musk, and Trump signed his first space policy, ordering NASA to return humans to the moon, then concentrate on Mars.
It is true that Musk was born in South Africa and grew up there. He later moved to Canada to attend Queen’s University and avoid mandatory service in the South African military. He left in 1992 to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics and stayed for a second bachelor’s degree in physics.
What did you think of the fake tweet allegedly showing Musk insulting Trump after the Falcon Heavy launch? Did you believe that the tweet was real or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.
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