Earlier this week, billionaire Elon Musk was spotted out on a luxury vacation in Mykonos, Greece, with a group of friends.
The tech mogul was photographed shirtless aboard a luxury yacht in a series of pictures released by the paparazzi.
Well, the photos quickly captured the interest of countless people on the internet, as tons of Twitter users seemingly couldn’t help but comment on the 51-year-old’s physique.
The discourse quickly wound up inspiring a ton of memes making fun of Elon, with several people mocking his frame and comparing it to the likes of Immortan Joe and Dr. Robotnik.
And some users who made fun of Elon justified their tweets by drawing attention to his controversial lifestyle.
The wealthy business mogul, who has an estimated net worth of almost $300 billion, has long defended his wealth against people who deem him and other billionaires “unethical,” given that a large amount of the global population still lives far below the poverty line. However, he says he doesn’t consume “billions of dollars a year” for “personal” reasons.
The Tesla CEO also has a history of sharing ignorant tweets, memorably offending members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community when he unwarrantedly said that “pronouns suck” a couple of years ago. In fact, just last month, Elon’s transgender daughter cut ties with him completely, revealing that she didn’t want to be related to him in “any way, shape, or form” as she filed legal documents requesting to change her name.
What’s more, as several Twitter users mentioned, Elon has publicly body-shamed others himself. Back in April, he tweeted a photo of Bill Gates alongside the pregnant man emoji and wrote: “in case u need to lose a boner fast.”
in case u need to lose a boner fast
So, some users argued that mocking Elon’s body was justified because of his controversial opinions.
“Body shaming is okay if it's someone we don't like,” one person wrote, while another suggested that billionaires “don't deserve privacy.”
Others went so far as to tweet that Elon actually “deserves” to be body-shamed. “elon musk deserves it all idc,” read one comment referencing all of the memes about his frame.
Well, with the subject trending all over Twitter, it wasn’t long before Elon — a frequent user of the platform — actually entered the conversation himself to react to some of the remarks firsthand.
Responding to just two of the many memes circling the site, Elon firstly replied to someone who tweeted a picture of him shirtless and sipping a drink.
“Haha damn, maybe I should take off my shirt more often … free the nip!!” Elon wrote.
And then, in response to someone who placed a photo of the tech mogul beside a dog, implying that they looked alike, Elon simply quipped: “My calves are bigger tho.”
While Elon seemed unfazed by the ongoing mockery, several fans have since jumped to his defense and argued that “nobody deserves to be body shamed, regardless of who they are.”
“I keep seeing posts making fun of how Elon Musk looks while outside in his bathing suit and it honestly makes me sad. Nobody deserves to be body shamed, regardless of who they are,” one person tweeted. “Not only that, Elon probably won’t see your posts, but your friends with the same body type will.”
I keep seeing posts making fun of how Elon Musk looks while outside in his bathing suit and it honestly makes me sad. Nobody deserves to be body shamed, regardless of who they are. Not only that, Elon probably won’t see your posts, but your friends with the same body type will.
“elon musk will not see/care about you body shaming him but other people with similar body types will,” another user echoed, while a third agreed: “body shaming elon musk is NOT the move yall.”
elon musk will not see/care about you body shaming him but other people with similar body types will
body shaming elon musk is NOT the move yall 👎
Meanwhile, others suggested that internet users are more than entitled to share their opinions on the controversial figure, yet should do so without resorting to body-shaming.
“you can hate elon musk without body shaming him lol,” one person wrote.
you can hate elon musk without body shaming him lol.
“There are plenty of ways to criticize Elon Musk without engaging in body shaming,” said another.
There are plenty of ways to criticize Elon Musk without engaging in body shaming. And, yes, I am judging you.