--- title: "Elon Musk Says People Have Tried to Kill Him, Muses About Building “Flying Metal Suit of Armor” as Defense" description: "To save himself from would-be assassins, Elon Musk is now proposing a new type of \"Iron Man\"-inspired security." date: "2024-07-15" modified: "2024-07-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-flying-metal-armor" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "Iron Man" - "politics" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Says People Have Tried to Kill Him, Muses About Building “Flying Metal Suit of Armor” as Defense ![To save himself from would-be assassins, Elon Musk is now proposing a new type of "Iron Man"-inspired security.]() *\Image: Marc Piasecki via Getty / Futurism\* ## Insecure Elon Musk says there have been multiple attempts on his life — and he's proposing an unorthodox response. "Two people (separate occasions) have already tried to kill me in the past 8 months," [he tweeted]() over the weekend. "They were arrested with guns about 20 mins drive from Tesla HQ in Texas." In response to a [tweet advising that]() he "better beef up \[his\] security too" in the wake of the attempt on Donald Trump's life during a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, the brash billionaire said that it may be "time to build that flying metal suit of armor." The quip was, of course, a reference to the Marvel character Iron Man, who was played in a series of Disney movies by Robert Downey Jr, in a performance at least partly [inspired by Musk](). ## Please, Please, Please For whatever reason, the assassination attempt seems to have unleashed fears among X-formerly-Twitter's right-wing set that the serial entrepreneur they idolize will be next. In another tweet, for example, [far-right pundit Ian Miles Cheong]() — who was once the subject of memes suggesting he'd [been assassinated in Malaysia]() — begged Musk to "please, please, triple \[his\] protection." "If they can come for Trump," [Cheong tweeted](), "they will also come for you." It's not the first time Musk has referenced his alleged assassination attempts. Earlier this year, he told [conservative Canadian professor Gad Saad]() during a live [audio chat]() on X Spaces that two "mentally ill" people had tried to do him in. "I have had two cases in the last six months of two people who are unfortunately very mentally ill," [he told Saad](). "They have come to Austin to try to kill me... with guns." One was, per Musk's reckoning, an "extreme schizophrenic" who'd allegedly become convinced that he had "put a chip in his head, like a Neuralink or something," and the other had stopped taking his medication and resultingly suffered a "total detachment from reality." While we have no reason to disbelieve those claims, we're not sure that an Iron Man suit is the most practical response — especially given Musk's track record with [flying things he's invented](). **More on Musk:** [*Elon Musk Planning to Bioengineer New Species to Live on Mars*]() ## 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]()