--- title: "Trolls Are Spreading a Rumor That Elon Musk Is Dead" description: "Internet trolls on Twitter spread a rumour that Elon Musk has died. Find out how made-up screenshots led to the trending #RIPElon hashtag." date: "2021-03-05" modified: "2021-03-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trolls-rumor-elon-musk-dead" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Trolls Are Spreading a Rumor That Elon Musk Is Dead ![Trolls on Twitter started flooding the social media network with made-up screenshots using the hashtag #RIPElon.]() *\Image: James Duncan Davidson/Victor Tangermann\* ## RIP Elon Let's get the obvious out of the way first: Elon Musk does not appear to be dead. But today, trolls on Twitter started flooding the social media network with made-up screenshots using the [hashtag #RIPElon](). Some screenshots showed [faked]() [headlines](), including "Elon Musk reportedly dead at 49 following Tesla battery malfunction," or "Elon Musk is dead — what this means for the stock market, and why this is good for the average American." ## Musk's Not Dead The news comes a day after news emerged that billionaire investor Ron Baron had [sold $1.8 million]() worth of Tesla shares, causing the company's share prices to dip. Its valuation fell by over $100 billion over just a few days this week, but analysts aren't particularly worried, and are still expecting the automaker to be worth a trillion dollars by the end of the year, [*Electrek* reports](). Likewise, Reddit's Tesla community wasn't swayed by the trolls. "Elon Musk is NOT dead!" one user wrote in [a post](). "Don't fall for these fake stories. They are posting fake links that lead to nowhere and posting screenshots from said fake articles." "Carry on everyone," the poster wrote. ## A For Effort One particularly savvy troll decided to [draft an entire statement]() allegedly sent out to investors by Tesla. "We are conducting an internal investigation in order to find who spoke to the media on this matter," the fake statement read. "We absolutely must find a replacement for Mr. Musk before announcing his death publicly." The statement was "signed" by "the Tesla PR Team." Ironically, Tesla [dissolved]() its entire PR department last year. So is this the work of Tesla short sellers? Unlikely, but not impossible. Tesla's stock price crash this week likely led to some of those betting against the company to make a nice little profit — but unfounded rumors on the internet about Musk's death aren't nearly as convincing. **READ MORE:** [Tesla (TSLA) erased $100 billion in value, but it could be worth $1 trillion this year, says top analyst]() \[*Electrek*\] **More on Tesla:** *[Elon Musk Praises Tesla Nemesis, Ford, In Rare Reversal]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()