Elon Musk has angered liberals while earning praise from Republicans after posting a video of himself hip-firing with his massive Barrett .50-caliber machine gun.
The 23-second clip, in which the world’s richest man fires six bullets, is part of a series of highly political posts he has shared with his 158 million followers on X that appeal to a right-wing fanbase.
Musk, 52, is seen wearing all black attire including leather shoes as he stands in a field and fires three bullets, shown in slow motion, followed by three more bullets at full speed.
His post follows a heated confrontation with liberal comedian Larry David over their conflicting views on gun control laws, following the Uvalde massacre earlier this year.
The comic Curb Your Enthusiasm lambasted the billionaire for his Republican ties and equated them with wanting to “kill kids in schools” during the May 27 wedding of their famous friends Ari Emanuel and Sarah Staudinger.
Elon Musk has angered liberals while drawing praise from Republicans after posting a video of himself hip-firing his massive Barrett .50-caliber machine gun
Liberal comedian Larry David confronted Musk at a star-studded wedding earlier this year, equating his pro-gun views with a desire to “kill kids in schools.” (Pictured left: David at a pre-wedding dinner, and right: Musk during the ceremony)
But such interactions haven’t stopped Musk from sparking even more outrage online — along with just as much admiration.
His recent armed video, which received 80.6 million views on X within two days with 840,000 likes, was reviled by liberals.
Retired Irish rugby player Gordon D’Arcy described Musk as a “muppet” for using his massive platform to glorify deadly weapons.
“One of the most influential people in the world… trying to make guns look cool (or I’m missing the point of this tweet),” D’Arcy said. ‘What a joke.’
Others described the Twitter czar as “a dork,” “a loser” and “an idiot,” with his video illustrating “a crisis of masculinity” and “one of the dumbest things ever seen” on X.
Another social media user said the video was the latest example of the South African-born tech boss going ‘full MAGA’.
But the video was also greeted with admiration, with several people praising Musk’s technique, and others encouraging him to shoot from the shoulder instead of the hip.
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Another commenter, from Arkansas, described the SpaceX founder as “extremely relatable” for showing his loyalty to the Second Amendment.
“People criticize Elon, but honestly, he’s just the man,” they said. “If I were a billionaire, I’d buy my favorite social media site and fire a Barrett.”
Animator Doug TenNapel praised Musk for the video, while mocking the tech boss’s contemporaries.
“This is how billionaires should have fun,” he said. “Compare it to other tech leaders like Bill Gates, Zuck and eyebrow-plucked influencers.
“Do you want to put on meta glasses or are you going to shoot a really big gun?!”
It comes after Musk traveled to the Texas town of Eagle Pass this week to speak to border officials, claiming some “pretty extreme people” were arriving illegally.
This drew criticism from his long-standing political opponent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who accused him of taking a “joyride” to the US-Mexico border.
Musk said he was concerned about stories of violent criminals making their way into the country among those fleeing poverty and conflict.
He discussed stories of people with gang tattoos on their faces being allowed to seek asylum, saying it was “insane.”
“They killed someone and are so proud that they killed someone that for every person they killed they tattoo a teardrop on their face,” he said.
Musk (center) is seen Thursday with Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas in a white shirt
The Twitter czar is seen Thursday in the town of Eagle Pass, Texas, with Congressman Tony Gonzalez
Ocasio-Cortez, 33, who has long been critical of Musk, condemned his visit to the city and called his guide, local Republican congressman Tony Gonzalez, particularly disparaging.
“What’s funny about this photo?” she wrote on X on Thursday.
‘The House of Representatives is holding important votes in DC tonight, people are doing their level best to avoid a shutdown, but this Republican congressman decided to skip town to joyride with a billionaire, while his own party only has a margin of has one digit and needs his vote.’
The day before, Musk had mocked the Democratic congresswoman, saying she’s “just not that smart” after her claim that more migrants entered the US through Ellis Island than arrived illegally across the Rio Grande.
Ocasio-Cortez hit back, replying to Musk: “I was not born rich and became the youngest woman in American history to be elected to Congress.”
Her anger at Musk came after he warned, while in Eagle Pass, that New York City’s inability to deal with the migrant crisis was an ominous sign for the rest of the country.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has long been engaged in a war of words with Elon Musk
During the month of August, more than 232,000 migrants crossed the US-Mexico border – and it is estimated that up to two million migrants have crossed this year
In his livestream from Eagle Pass, Texas, Musk said he wanted to share scenes from the overwhelmed border city with his 158 million followers, and at one point pointed his camera at lines of people sitting on the ground waiting to be processed under a bridge.
But the stream crashed after just four minutes, echoing his disastrous attempt to host Ron DeSantis’ campaign launch on X. That broadcast was also marred by repeated loss of connection.
South African-born Musk insisted Thursday he was “extremely pro-immigrant” but said he wanted to see the system regulated.