FACT CHECK: Was Elon Musk Killed In A Tesla Factory Explosion?
A viral Instagram post allegedly shows a Fox News article with the headline “Elon Musk declared dead after Tesla factory explosion.”
View this post on Instagram
Verdict: False
Musk has not died. The pictured Fox News article has been fabricated.
Fact Check:
Musk is the CEO of the Tesla and SpaceX. Forbes estimates he has a net worth of $165.1 billion of press time. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Footage Captured By The Perseverance Mars Rover?)
In recent days, some social media users have been sharing a screen grab of an alleged Fox News article reporting that Musk died in an explosion at a Tesla factory. The hashtag #RIPElon briefly trended on Twitter March 5, according to Tech Times.
Had Musk died in a Tesla factory explosion, it would have been picked up by major news outlets. However, Check Your Fact found no evidence in media reports or Tesla press releases to corroborate such a claim. A search of the Fox News website also didn’t yield any results for the supposed headline. The article appears to be fabricated.
Musk has been active on Twitter since March 5, the date the Instagram page posted the fake article. He even appeared to address the rumor of his death, responding with two laughing emojis to a Twitter user who commented, “BRO WTF WHO HACKED ELON ON THE DAY HE LITERALLY DIED.”
????????
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2021
Great band, too bad they broke up pic.twitter.com/VQm7HhHw2M
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2021
Carnot efficiency of the Universe?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 8, 2021
Other fabricated news articles about Musk dying also circulated on social media around the same time, according to Snopes.
