SNL host Elon Musk reveals he has Asperger’s, jokes about his drug taking, ‘strange’ social media posts, his son’s weird name and Dogecoin: Historic global live stream goes down to viewers fury
- Elon Musk appeared on SNL as the host for Saturday’s new episode
- In a first, episode was livestreamed globally to 100 countries on YouTube
- Tapping Musk to host was seen as a risky gambit to expand show’s audience
Elon Musk has delivered his monologue on Saturday Night Live, poking fun at his own eccentricities and appearing to reveal that he has ‘Asperger’s’.
As the hotly anticipated episode aired, many users complained that streaming options on the NBC app were crashing, presumably due to high user volume.
‘I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL. Or at least the first to admit it. So I won’t make a lot of eye contact with the cast tonight,’ Musk said in his monologue.
Asperger syndrome is an autism-spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication.
Musk shared his vision that humanity ‘must become a multiplanetary spacefaring civilization’ before going on to joke about his eccentric nature and frequently bizarre Twitter posts.
Elon Musk has delivered his monologue on Saturday Night Live, poking fun at his own eccentricities and appearing to confess that he has ‘Asperger’s’
‘Look I know I sometimes say or post strange things, but that’s just how my brain works,’ said Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
‘To anyone I’ve offended, I just want to say: I reinvented electric cars and I’m sending humans to Mars on a rocket ship. Did you also think I was going to be a chill, normal dude?’ he joked.
‘A lot of times, people are reduced to the dumbest thing they ever did,’ he continued. ‘Like one time, I smoked weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast. And now all the time I hear “Elon Musk, all he does is smoke weed on podcasts.”‘
‘It happened once! It’s like reducing OJ Simpson to murderer! That was one time,’ Musk joked.
The decision to tap the Tesla CEO and ‘Technoking’ to host the NBC sketch comedy show was seen as a risky gambit by creator Lorne Michaels to boost ratings and expand audience.
For the first time in SNL’s 46-year history, the episode featuring Musk aired live internationally on YouTube in more than 100 countries. The stream was not available to U.S. viewers.
‘SNL is a global phenomenon and this livestream marks the first time audiences around the world will experience the show simultaneously along with the US,’ Frances Berwick, chairman of NBCU’s entertainment networks, said in a statement.
Musk posted a photo of himself, musical guest Miley Cyrus and Australian rapper The Kid Laroi along with the Shiba Inu dog from the meme that inspired the creation of Dogecoin
‘It’s incredibly exciting to create this worldwide event with host Elon Musk and musical guest Miley Cyrus,’ he added.
Saturday’s episode of the show quickly became one of the most hotly-anticipated of all time, due to the decision to cast the controversial Tesla boss as host for the evening.
The decision drew an instant backlash from its long-running cast members when it surfaced last month, with many making digs at Musk on social media.
Even hours before the live show, tensions were still simmering with sources saying some cast members ‘are getting a little too big for their britches.’
Musk’s girlfriend Grimes also hinted she will be joining him and Miley in an Instagram post where she told fans: ‘Tune into SNL tonight and watch me try acting’.