Elon Musk angered liberals while sparking praise from Republicans after posting a video of himself firing his giant .50-caliber Barrett machine gun from the hip.
The 23-second clip, in which the world’s richest man fires six shots, is one of a series of highly political posts he has shared with his 158 million followers on X, targeting a right-wing fan base.
Musk, 52, is seen wearing all-black clothing and leather shoes as he stands in a field and fires three shots in slow motion, followed by another three shots at full speed.
His post follows a heated confrontation with liberal comedian Larry David over their conflicting views on gun control laws following the Uvalde massacre earlier this year.
The Curb Your Enthusiasm comic lambasted the billionaire for his Republican affiliation, equating it with a desire to “murder children in schools” while attending the May 27 wedding of her celebrity friends Ari Emanuel and Sarah Staudinger .
Elon Musk angered liberals while sparking praise from Republicans after posting a video of himself firing his giant .50-caliber Barrett machine gun from the hip
Liberal comedian Larry David confronted Musk at a star-studded wedding earlier this year, equating his pro-gun views with a desire to “murder children in schools.” (Pictured left: David at a pre-wedding dinner and right: Musk at the ceremony)
But such interactions haven’t stopped Musk from sparking even more outrage and just as much admiration online.
His recent armed video, which was viewed 80.6 million times on X in two days and received 840,000 likes, was criticized by liberals.
Retired Irish rugby player Gordon D’Arcy described Musk as a “Muppet” for using his gigantic platform to glorify deadly weapons.
“One of the most influential people on the planet. “He’s trying to make guns look cool (or I’m missing the point of this tweet),” D’Arcy said. “What a muppet.”
Others described the Twitter czar as “an idiot”, “a loser” and “an idiot” – saying his video illustrated “a crisis of masculinity” and “one of the stupidest things ever seen on X”.
Another social media user said the video was the latest example of the South African-born tech boss going “full MAGA.”
But the video was also met with praise – several people praised Musk’s technique, others encouraged him to shoot from the shoulder instead of the hip.
One X user described Musk as “the best billionaire out there,” while a gun lobbyist from Colorado said, “I knew I liked this guy.”
Another commenter from Arkansas described the SpaceX founder as “extremely likeable” for expressing his allegiance to the Second Amendment.
One of the most influential people on the planet. He’s trying to make guns look cool (or I’m missing the point of this tweet). What a Muppet https://t.co/uFddFRuiha
— Gordon D’Arcy (@Gordonwdarcy) September 30, 2023
People rip on Elon, but honestly he’s just the man. If I were a billionaire, I would buy my favorite social media site and fire off a Barrett. extremely understandable https://t.co/fd96ONxXhf
– big content guy (@bigcontentguy) September 30, 2023
“People rip on Elon, but honestly he’s just the man,” they said. “If I were a billionaire, I would buy my favorite social media site and shoot a Barrett from the hip.”
Animator Doug TenNapel praised Musk for the video while also mocking his tech boss contemporaries.
“This is how billionaires should have fun,” he said. “Compare it to other tech leaders like Bill Gates, Zuck and flashy influencers.”
“Do you want to put on meta glasses or do you want to shoot a big gun?!”
This comes after Musk traveled to the Texas town of Eagle Pass this week to speak with border officials and claimed that some “pretty extreme people” were arriving illegally.
This sparked criticism from his long-time political opponent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who accused him of taking a “joy trip” to the US-Mexico border.
Musk said he was concerned about stories of violent criminals finding their way into the country among those fleeing poverty and conflict.
He talked about stories of people with gang tattoos on their faces being allowed to apply for asylum, saying it was “crazy.”
“They murdered someone and are so proud of murdering someone that they tattoo a teardrop on their face for every person they killed,” he said.
Musk (center) is seen wearing a white shirt with Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas on Thursday
The Twitter czar is seen with Congressman Tony Gonzalez in the town of Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday
Ocasio-Cortez, 33, who has long been critical of Musk, condemned his visit to the city and praised his leader, local Republican congressman Tony Gonzalez, for particular contempt.
“What’s funny about this photo?” she wrote on X on Thursday.
“The House of Representatives is holding crucial votes in DC tonight, people are fighting to prevent a shutdown, but this Republican congressman has decided to skip town to joyride with a billionaire while his own party only has one in the single digits has a head start and needs his vote.”
The day before, Musk mocked the Democratic congresswoman, saying she was “just not that smart” after she claimed that more migrants entered the US through Ellis Island than entered illegally across the Rio Grande .
Ocasio-Cortez hit back, replying to Musk: “I wasn’t born rich and became the youngest woman in American history elected to Congress.”
Their anger at Musk came after he warned in Eagle Pass that New York’s inability to deal with the refugee crisis was an ominous sign for the rest of the country.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been in a war of words with Elon Musk for a long time
During the month of August, more than 232,000 migrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border – and this year the number is estimated to have risen to two million
In his livestream from Eagle Pass, Texas, Musk said he wanted to share scenes from the crowded border town with his 158 million followers, at one point pointing his camera at rows of people sitting on the ground waiting for processing under a bridge.
But the stream stopped after just four minutes, an echo of his disastrous attempt to host Ron DeSantis’ campaign launch on X. This transmission was also affected by repeated connection interruptions.
South African-born Musk insisted Thursday that he is “extremely pro-immigrant” but said he would like to see the system regulated.