--- title: "You Will Never in 100 Years Guess What Elon Musk’s Lawyer Does as a Side Job" description: "New reporting revealed that one of Elon Musk's top lawyers, Jaymie Parkkinen, moonlights as a professional clown." date: "2026-01-03" modified: "2026-01-03" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/elon-musk-lawyer-clown" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" --- # You Will Never in 100 Years Guess What Elon Musk’s Lawyer Does as a Side Job ![New reporting revealed that one of Elon Musk's top lawyers, Jaymie Parkkinen, moonlights as a professional clown.]() *Getty Images* If Elon Musk's antics over the past few years have felt like a three-ring circus, there just might be a reason for that. As it turns out, one of the billionaire's key legal strategists isn't just an attorney but a professionally trained — and currently practicing — clown. We wish we were kidding. But new [reporting by *Business Insider*]() tells the tale of Jaymie Parkkinen, an intellectual property lawyer representing Musk by day while working as an actual clown by night. Amidst a massive [courtroom drama]() playing out between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Parkkinen has stood out, occasionally [going it alone]() against esteemed counsel for OpenAI and Microsoft on the multibillionaire's behalf. "All of my comedy friends — none of them can believe I'm a lawyer," Parkkinen told *BI*. "And none of my lawyer friends can believe I do clown." "Clown" is his preferred term for the act of performing onstage in the slapstick tradition, an [intransitive verb]() similar to "improv" or "vogue" dance. For Parkkinsen, clown is less about dressing up in big goofy shoes and throwing pies, and more of an artistic craft, similar to the way silent artists mime as a comedic technique. "When you strip away all the social masks that we all wear, if you strip away gender and politics and money and status and power, and you're just your raw human self without all of the trappings of society — who are you?" Parkkinen mused to *BI*. "Clown tries to answer that question." Parkkinsen even found a way to monetize the gig, through a fitness business called Clown Cardio. It's more or less exactly what it sounds like, according to a [*New York Times* article]() from 2024: an hour-long class in which participants participate in improv troupe warm-ups enhanced with vaudeville-themed aerobics and clownish props. Heck, to each their own. But whether you respect Parkkinsen's craft or not, it's hard to shake the image that one of Musk's top litigators spends his off-hours, literally, as a clown. **More on Musk:** *[Elon Musk’s Starship Explosion Endangered Hundreds of Airline Passengers]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()