Elon Musk, the eccentric billionaire behind companies like Tesla and SpaceX, is known for his relentless work ethic and ambitious projects. Anyone that follows Elon knows how unique of a character he is, but being one of the most influential entrepreneurs of the century he tends to have a IDGAF attitude, also known as "having f*ck you money"
From launching his own Tesla Roadster into space to making cheeky references to 420 and 69, Musk proves that even the busiest CEOs can find ways to inject some fun into their corporate lives. Here's a few of my favorite examples of how Elon Musk manages to keep things interesting, both inside and outside the boardroom.
- Sending a Tesla Roadster to Space: In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket with Musk's own Tesla Roadster on board, playing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on a loop. This was a creative way to test and demonstrate the rocket's capabilities.
- 420 and 69: He once tweeted that due to inflation, "420 has gone up by 69." He also updated the Canadian Broadcasting Corp's Twitter account to say that it's 69% government-funded and set 4/20 as the date for eliminating legacy blue checkmarks. Musk priced the Tesla Model S at $69,420 and later testified in court that a tweet saying he was going to take Tesla private at $420 was not a joke. He committed to a 4/20 launch date for the Starship rocket as a joke and mentioned that his birthday is exactly 69 days after 4/20.
- Appearing in Movies and TV Shows: Musk has made cameo appearances in several films and TV shows, including "Iron Man 2", "The Big Bang Theory", and "Rick and Morty", showcasing his playful side. My favorite is Elon Tusk in Rick & Morty. Here's Elon Tusk as the CEO of Tuskla:
- The Boring Company: Musk started a tunneling project at SpaceX's headquarters as a fun side project, which eventually led to the creation of The Boring Company. The Boring Company then sold 20,000 flamethrowers as a fun and unconventional marketing stunt. This is one of the best purchases I've ever made. ("This is not a flamethrower")
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Tesla's Fart Sounds: Tesla cars are known for their hidden Easter eggs. One of these Easter eggs is the fart sound. The feature is part of the "Emissions Testing Mode" in the Tesla Toybox, a collection of entertainment features. The fart mode is usually disguised as a whoopie cushion and can be controlled by touching a scroll on the steering wheel or the left turn signal. Depending on the model, a Tesla can have up to seven different fart noises, including:
Not a Fart
Short Shorts Ripper
Falcon Heavy
Ludicrous Fart
Neurastink
Boring Fart
I'm so random - Tweeting Humor: Musk often uses Twitter to share jokes and memes, engaging with his followers in a humorous way.
- Goofing on the Joe Rogan Podcast: Musk smoked some weed and drank whiskey during one episode, leading to some unconventional and entertaining moments.
- Gamer: Elon said he spent his holiday break playing Diablo 4 and even joined forces with some of the game's top streamers for assistance. He disclosed that he spent 17 hours playing Diablo on Christmas Eve and managed to reach tier 24 of the Abattoir of Zir dungeon using his poison shred Druid build.
- "Go Fuck Yourself": In an interview when asked about the advertisers trying to blackmail Elon into shutting down free speech on X by pulling advertising revenue, Elon's response was just "Go Fuck Yourself".
Stay tuned, I'm sure Elon will have many more interesting moments in the near future!