An image shared on Threads allegedly shows a CNN article with a headline claiming Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to melt down the Statue of Liberty to create a limited edition Cybertruck series.

 

View on Threads

 

Verdict: False

CNN published no such article, a spokesperson for the outlet confirmed in an email to Check Your Fact.

Fact Check:

An assassination threat was allegedly made against Musk days after a man shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson dead in New York City, according to Newsweek. A Bluesky user posted an image that showed Musk being threatened with a gun and “#manifesting” in the caption, which has now been removed by Bluesky, the outlet reported.

A photo posted to Threads claims to show an article published by CNN with a headline claiming Musk wants to “melt down” the Statue of Liberty to create a certain type of Cybertruck. The purported headline reads, “Elon Musk Considers Melting Down Statue of Liberty To Make Series of Limited Edition Cyber Trucks.”

Underneath this is a sub headline claiming that Musk was overheard saying at a Mar-a-Lago luncheon, “Lady Liberty is French. There’s nothing less American than that statue.”

This is not a genuine article, however. It does not appear on the CNN website or on any of its social media accounts. No such article appears under the profile for Brian Stelter, whose name is listed in the byline. It appears to have been edited from a genuine article from Stelter with the headline “Elon Musk floats buying MSNBC, but he’s not the only billionaire who may be interested,” which has the same timestamp and date. 

There are no credible news reports from CNN or other news outlets to corroborate the claim involving the limited edition Cybertrucks. 

“This post is totally fake. Everything about it is fabricated,” a CNN spokesperson told Check Your Fact via email. (RELATED: Did Elon Musk Defend CEOs After Murder Of Brian Thompson?)

The claim was also debunked by Reuters, Snopes and PolitiFact.