Elon Musk tweets right-wing ‘take the red pill’ meme and is praised by Ivanka Trump before both are slammed by creator of the Matrix films
- On Sunday morning, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a cryptic tweet, saying ‘Take the red pill’ with an emoji of a red rose
- The reference is from the 1999 sci-fi blockbuster film The Matrix
- The phrase ‘take the red pill’ has taken on a new meaning in internet subculture
- It usually refers to conservative political beliefs and even extreme alt-right view
- Ivanka Trump then replied ‘Taken!’ to Musk’s tweet which then prompted co-writer of The Matrix Lilly Wachowski to reply ‘F*** both of you’
Elon Musk, who is fast becoming famous for his cryptic and often frenetic tweets added another on Sunday night after tweeting: ‘Take the red pill’ to his 34 million followers.
The line is from the 1999 movie The Matrix: ‘You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes,’ the film reveals.
In this instance the tweet resulted in a number of possible meanings, not all of them good.
On Sunday morning, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted a cryptic tweet, saying ‘Take the red pill’ with an emoji of a red rose
Ivanka Trump then replied ‘Taken!’ to Musk’s tweet
The response prompted co-writer of The Matrix Lilly Wachowski to reply ‘F*** both of you’
Some Twitter users saw Musk’s ‘red pill’ as an indication that he was taking up the Republican mantle, an idea clearly appreciated by the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, who retweeted Musk’s tweet pill offer saying: ‘Taken!’
More recently the ‘red pill’ term has been used to describe the taking on of conservative values after formerly identifying with more liberal ideas.
People sometimes describe themselves as having ‘red pill moments’, ‘personal awakenings that have caused them to reject leftist narratives imbibed since childhood from friends, teachers, and the news and entertainment media,’ Fox News explains.
According to Urban Dictionary, ‘Red pill’ has become ‘a popular phrase in cyberculture and signifies a free-thinking attitude, and a waking up from a ‘normal’ life of sloth and ignorance. Red pills prefer the truth, no matter how gritty and painful it may be.’
Last week, Musk clashed with local officials in Fremont, California, over the reopening of his Tesla factory, which had been ordered closed to stop the spread of coronavirus
Musk’s tweet earned a quick rebuke from the Matrix’s co-creator Lilly Wachowski.
The ‘red-pill’ philosophy is also part of the alt-right movement. Richard Spencer, an alt-right leader, has posted videos on the topic along with other personalities associated with the alt-right.
Taking the red pill, or being ‘red-pilled,’ is much more commonly used on the internet to denote a right-wing political awakening.
Musk’s tweet earned a quick rebuke from the Matrix’s co-creator Lilly Wachowski.
‘F*** both of you’, she wrote.
Musk and Trump did not respond to Wachowski.
In The Matrix, the main character is offered the choice between a red pill and a blue pill by rebel leader Morpheus, pictured
The red pill and blue pill is a popular meme representing a choice between taking either a ‘red pill’ that reveals an unpleasant truth, or taking a ‘blue pill’ to remain in blissful ignorance. The terms are directly derived from a scene in the 1999 film The Matrix
Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser to her father, declared she had ‘taken’ the red pill
Last week, Musk clashed with local officials in Fremont, California, over the reopening of his Tesla factory, which had been ordered closed to stop the spread of coronavirus.
He defied an order to stay closed and the plant was running for two days with Musk almost daring to be arrested.
The Alameda County Public Health Department eventually announced a settlement with company workers following previously agreed-upon worker safety precautions.
Musk has openly critical of shutdown policies by the California government during the pandemic.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is threatening to pull the company’s factory and headquarters out of California in a spat with local officials over reopening the electric vehicle plant