--- title: "Experts Analyze Why Elon Musk Is So Painfully Unfunny" description: "Try as he might, Elon Musk cannot add \"funny guy\" to his lengthening list of accolades — and a bunch of comedians have weighed in on why." date: "2023-05-24" modified: "2023-05-24" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-comedians" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "420" - "comedy" - "elon musk" - "the digest" --- # Experts Analyze Why Elon Musk Is So Painfully Unfunny ![Try as he might, Elon Musk cannot add "funny guy" to his lengthening list of accolades — and a bunch of comedians have weighed in on why.]() *\Image: Chandan Khanna via Getty / Futurism\* ## Laugh Wit Try as he might, Elon Musk simply cannot add "funny guy" to his ever-growing resumé — and as some of the best comedians in the game explain, there are a lot of reasons why. To that end, the [*Los Angeles Times* compiled]() a "crack team" of comedians, with credits ranging from "Bob's Burgers" to "Community" to "Last Week Tonight," to drill down exactly why Musk's jokes don't land. Take, for example, the exchange in which Musk, for some reason, decided to issue a weirdly-timed "[that's what she said]()" when New York's Rep. [Hakeem Jeffries tweeted]() that "House Dems are fighting hard for the American people" while "right-wing extremists are fighting each other." "The problem is 'fighting hard' does not have a double meaning," Hari Kondaboly, stand-up comedian and creator of "The Problem With Apu" told the *LA Times*. "Also, a second sentence preceded his 'joke,' so it’s not really clear what he was trying to do." Kondabolu's fellow stand-up Jiaoying Summers, who owns the club Hollywood Comedy in Los Angeles, agreed that Musk didn't land the joke because "he didn’t use it correctly." "There is nothing sexy about it," he said. ## Squeaky Cringe In spite of not being funny, Musk also has repeatedly attempted to do "bits," such as his apparent obsession with the so-called "[weed number" 420]() and [69](), the number that vaguely resembles a sex position — and as some of the comedians who spoke to the *LA Times* note, the cringe factor actually makes him funnier. "This is legitimately hilarious because it’s so stupid," Nikki Glaser, the host of the "FBoy Island" reality dating show, said of Musk's repeated 420 and 69 jokes. "The best joke is that he thinks he’s clever. He’s Michael Scott meets Dr. Evil." Podcaster Spencer Crittendon also thinks that Musk's 420 obsession, specifically, is accidental comedic gold. "What’s funny is that he keeps stepping on rakes because he needs to do 420 jokes," the host of the "That Happens" podcast said. "It’s destroying everything." Crittendon pointed to speculation that Musk's 420 fixation may well have, through a series of misadventures, [caused SpaceX's Starship to blow up on April 20th](). "I mean, the reason that the rocket exploded \[is\] because he committed to a 4/20 launch date as a joke," he said. "It’s insane! Thousands of birds died because of a 420 joke." Ultimately, we should take these kinds of W's when they come, because as long as this unfunny guy is running Twitter, the line between his [cringe-ness]() and his ability to [change the world at a whim]() keeps getting thinner and thinner. **More on Musk:** [*Video Shows Elon Musk "White Boy Dancing" in Mexico*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()