Elon Musk was the subject of 'Last Week Tonight' on Sunday, the massively popular show on Max hosted by John Oliver.
The multi-time Emmy-awarding show has been around for a decade and has never been afraid to put out scathing deep dives on some of the world's most prominent people, companies, and industries. Some of the shows topics include Donald Trump, International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), and the tobacco industry.
In tackling Musk, Oliver and "Last Week Tonight" actually didn't shy away from complementing Musk and the success of his companies. But the main point Oliver was trying to drive was that Musk holds an immense amount of power in the world — including on powerful governments like the U.S. — and it may be dangerous, especially given Musk's track record.
Related: Elon Musk gets grilled by Last Week Tonight's John Oliver in must-see segment
"Whether we like it or not — and the answer is absolutely not — a huge number of very important things going forward are going to depend on how Elon is feeling, which is a terrifying thing to say about anyone, but especially this guy," Oliver said.
The episode on Musk has already surpassed 3.8 million views on YouTube — though this is actually still less than some of Oliver's most popular episodes from its latest season that include the Israel-Hamas War, which has nearly eight million views.
Given the show's popularity, it's no surprise that Musk would give his response on X (formerly Twitter).
Related: McKinsey called the 'Salt Bae' of consulting firms in scathing 'Last Week Tonight' takedown
Musk responded to a tweet on Monday, Dec. 18, attacking the "wokeness" of Oliver.
"Oliver was great several years ago, but stopped being funny when he sold his soul to wokeness where humor is basically illegal," Musk tweeted.
🤣🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2023
Oliver was great several years ago, but stopped being funny when he sold his soul to wokeness where humor is basically illegal.
Oliver actually acknowledged at the end of his story that he expected Musk to not necessarily be pleased with him.
"I know Elon might be unhappy with this piece," Oliver said. "He might say he's saving humanity, [and] what have I ever done? What industry have I revolutionized? And I admit, nothing yet."
Then Oliver proceeded to bring out a human dancing robot, akin to the same way Musk and Tesla first introduced the Tesla Bot in 2021.
"But may I remind you, I've already taken the first step to building a robot empire," Oliver joked.
Get exclusive access to portfolio managers’ stock picks and proven investing strategies with Real Money Pro. Get started now.
