Elon Musk is constantly making headlines, and lately, the buzz has been about allegations that he’s secretly fathered a 13th child and his ex publicly reaching out to him on X. But these are just a few of the reasons he remains in the spotlight.
When he’s not attempting to help astronauts stranded on the International Space Station or dismissing criticism from his own father about his parenting, Musk is deeply invested in his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. While the position isn’t officially recognized by the White House, he holds certain powers as a “special government employee.”
As the leader of DOGE, Musk has pledged to cut $2 trillion in government spending. However, in addition to facing heavy public criticism, he has also been instructed to erase financial data belonging to millions of Americans.
Musk made headlines worldwide after taking aim at Medicare during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. However, that wasn’t even the most surreal moment involving the billionaire at the event. In a particularly bizarre exchange, Argentinian President and Trump supporter Javier Milei handed Musk a gilded chainsaw—symbolizing the drastic government spending cuts Milei has been implementing.
Just when it seemed like the strangest thing to happen to the Tesla CEO was receiving a sci-fi-style portrait of himself, Musk managed to outdo even that.
Many were also puzzled by his overall look, particularly his decision to wear oversized sunglasses throughout the entire right-wing gathering.
Dressed in sunglasses, a gold chain, and a shirt that read, “I’m not procrastinating I’m doing side quests,” Musk became a walking meme. At one point, he quipped, “I am become meme,” before following up with, “My mind is a storm.”
Elon Musk wore the same outfit he promised to wear last year if President Trump won and DOGE started operating.
He looks super cool with glasses and a gold chain around his neck! 😎 https://t.co/cJFPRrXyis pic.twitter.com/1jnG4A3NLq
— SMX 🇺🇸 (@iam_smx) February 20, 2025
Critics argued that Musk struggled to form coherent sentences, and while Grimes was a hot topic online, the second most discussed subject on X was “ketamine,” as the platform was flooded with speculation that the billionaire had taken the drug.
At least there’s now an explanation for his sunglasses—Musk clarified that wearing them was tied to a pledge he made in 2024, promising to do so if Donald Trump won another term as President.
During yet another viral speech, Musk backed Trump’s controversial assertion that the gold reserves at Fort Knox might not be real. The former president had stated his intention to personally inspect the military facility to verify the gold’s presence, while Musk took it further at CPAC, saying: *”We just wanna see it and make sure somebody didn’t spray paint lead or something.”*
Following Musk on stage was former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who has been openly critical of him, referring to Musk as a *”parasitic illegal immigrant”* who *”wants to impose his freak experiments and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, values or traditions.”* Some had anticipated a dramatic confrontation between the two, akin to a Mike Tyson vs. Logan Paul-style showdown, but they never appeared together.
Despite the controversy, Musk received some of the loudest applause of the event, earning multiple standing ovations from the audience.