In an unexpected twist on late-night television, comedian Jimmy Kimmel took a sharp jab at Elon Musk during a recent monologue, poking fun at Tesla’s recent stock slide. Referring to Musk’s outspoken social media behavior and controversial public statements, Kimmel quipped, “At this rate, your Tesla can drive itself—straight into bankruptcy.”
The studio audience chuckled at the punchline, but what followed wasn’t the typical celebrity roasting moment. Within hours, Elon Musk responded on X (formerly Twitter) with a fiery post, calling Kimmel’s joke “tired,” “uninformed,” and a “lazy attack on innovation.” He went further, suggesting that “legacy media is dying, and cheap shots like this are why.”
What truly caught viewers off guard was what came next. Musk made an unannounced appearance on a live Twitter Space, where he addressed the joke directly and launched into a passionate defense of Tesla’s mission and the volatility of the stock market. “We’ve faced worse. We’ll bounce back. What comedians won’t get is that real change doesn’t come without resistance—or ridicule.”
The exchange sparked a wave of reactions online, with social media split between fans backing Musk and others defending Kimmel’s comedic freedom. Some called Musk’s response overly sensitive, while others saw it as a powerful clapback from a CEO tired of being the butt of late-night jokes.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s stock has shown modest signs of recovery, and analysts warn against reading too much into the short-term fluctuations. But one thing is clear: the clash between entertainment and entrepreneurship just added a dramatic new chapter.
The joke may have landed—but so did the comeback.
