Elon Musk was the talk of Twitter over the weekend, but unlike other times he’s gone viral, it wasn’t because of something he did recently. It revolved around an old tweet from a media outlet that got people debating just how smart the Tesla and SpaceX founder actually is.
The New York Post did a story about potential plans for a neural implant that would make people smarter, with the headline “Could Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chips make us all as smart as he is?”
Could Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chips make us all as smart as he is? https://t.co/NuehrBxpB7 pic.twitter.com/OOqTgMG0H6
— New York Post (@nypost) March 6, 2021
The headline was met with immediate backlash on Twitter, causing people to talk about how smart the billionaire actually is.
Maybe we can be smart enough to be born into wealth
— Professor Bofa, PhD (@zoe_diamonds) March 7, 2021
itd be cheaper and faster to just hire a big strong horse to kick everybody https://t.co/7nxRK4HxRr
— Patrick Cosmos (@veryimportant) March 7, 2021
Could Elon Musk’s Lobotomy Chip make us all as smart as he is? https://t.co/BsS6bSYpty
— Harry Brewis (Hbomberguy) (@Hbomberguy) March 7, 2021
Later, the Post published the story with a different headline on Twitter.
Rockets, brain chips, his own city: Is Elon Musk superhero or supervillain? https://t.co/cggWZmMgIR pic.twitter.com/ezUfSCrnbd
— New York Post (@nypost) March 7, 2021
But that didn’t stop screenshots of the tweet to keep talk on Twitter going.
I’d need a lobotomy to be as smart as Elon Musk pic.twitter.com/fAeDntVJny
— Killjoy McCoy (@letsgoayo) March 7, 2021
A lot of people pointed to Musk’s insistence that the COVID-19 pandemic wouldn’t be that big a deal in 2020, especially in the wake of 500,000 Americans dying from the virus a year later.
If only a chip in my head could make me this smart. https://t.co/2XJttvk1I7
— Michael R. Trice, DM (@MikeRTrice) March 7, 2021
Yeah Elon Musk is smart he had the common sense of being born in a rich family most people don’t think about that pic.twitter.com/fPprPRvjte
— nepalmaoist (@yatasuregima) March 7, 2021
One year and 2.5 million deaths ago pic.twitter.com/ThU0K1UKVm
— Ryan Mac
(@RMac18) March 7, 2021
I can’t imagine being this smart https://t.co/9kn6p57ySC https://t.co/n3VWYFmpsq
— Alissa Walker (@awalkerinLA) March 7, 2021
Most just wanted to know more about this brain chip that’s supposed to make us all genius billionaires.
ELON, EXPLAINING: well you see, it’s actually quite epic.
— Patrick Cosmos (@veryimportant) March 7, 2021
We’ll have to wait and see if this chip does what it says it can do, but there are plenty of folks out there who don’t seem too optimistic about the concept — especially considering the brains behind it.