Elon Musk joined the right-wing Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington, D.C. on Thursday where critics wondered aloud whether he showed up intoxicated — or if something was wrong.
Storming in wielding a chainsaw and donning sunglasses, Musk settled down for an interview, telling the crowd at one point, "My mind is a storm."
His appearance left observers questioning his mental state.
"Elon can barely form a sentence right now," said journalist Aaron Rupar, posting a video clip of Musk's comments aired on Newsmax.
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"Hard to argue with him," a sarcastic legal analyst Ken White said. White was once suspended on the platform — then known as Twitter — after sharing threats he received on the platform. He was eventually reinstated but abandoned the site in 2022.
Comedian Gabe Sanchez tweeted: "POV: you just took a s--t ton of ketamine and went on stage."
"Uncontrollable vowel movements," said political commentator Keith Olbermann.
"He sounds very much under the influence," said Dr. Danielle Lupton.
"Kleptocratic ketamine addict," quipped legal analyst Jennifer Taub.
MiVote founder Adam A. Jacoby commented, "Elon Musk is the Nick Nolte of Joseph Goebbels."
"The same guy running around the stage with a chainsaw and unable to complete a sentence wants to put his microchips in people’s brains," pointed out Melanie D'Arrigo, New York Health Campaign director.
Jezebel staff writer Kylie Cheung wrote, "I don’t care for his health or well being, I’d love if something awful happened to him, but we’re in a scary place where he’s alive and functional enough to take a wrecking ball through everything, just clearly insane and removed from reality and making it all our problem."
Rupar summed up the discussion, describing the moment: "Wearing sunglasses inside and following an event where he at times had a hard time speaking coherently, Elon Musk walks off the CPAC stage waving around a chainsaw. This is the guy currently running our government. Congrats, America!"