I haven’t sat down and watched an entire Saturday Night Live in years, perhaps decades. SNL puts all of their skits on YouTube these days, so if there’s a good host or a funny skit, I watch the clips there on Sunday. I tried to watch a few of this weekend’s SNL clips just to see if Elon Musk did an okay job. He did not. To be fair, I guess, the writing wasn’t there. But Elon was an uninspired host with no comedic timing and people are still mad that Lorne Michaels stunt-cast him. As it turns out, one of the funniest things about Elon Musk’s SNL appearance is that his favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, saw its value plummet on Saturday night, concurrent with Elon’s appearance.
Dogecoin lost more than a third of its price on Sunday, after Tesla chief and cryptocurrency supporter Elon Musk called it a ‘hustle’ during his guest-host spot on the “Saturday Night Live” comedy sketch TV show. Dogecoin was quoted as low as $0.416 on crypto exchange Binance, down 36% from levels around $0.65 before the show. It retraced some of that move later on Sunday, and was last trading around $0.569.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts had for days been eager to see what he would say, after his tweets this year turned the once-obscure digital currency, which began as a social media joke, into a speculator’s dream. Asked ‘what is dogecoin’, Musk replied, “It’s the future of currency. It’s an unstoppable financial vehicle that’s going to take over the world.” When a show cast member Michael Che countered, “So, it’s a hustle?”, Musk replied, “Yeah, it’s a hustle,” and laughed.
On crypto data tracker CoinGecko.com, dogecoin has jumped more than 800% over the last month and is now the fourth-largest digital currency, with a market capitalization of $73 billion. It hit a record high Thursday above $0.73. Some crypto experts said that Sunday’s dogecoin selloff was driven by speculation and that Musk had not hurt its long-term prospects.
“Long term fundamentals of doge are intact. This is a buying opportunity,” said Jehan Chu, managing partner at Hong Kong blockchain venture capital firm Kenetic Capital. “It’s a true social currency – that’s its value.”
All currency is social currency. All currency relies on the public’s confidence. If dogecoin was paper money, the international markets would be freaking out at how volatile it is. But someone is making bank from the volatility, and it’s probably Elon and the mega-investors like him, or the hedge funds shorting dogecoin. Anyway, it’s really funny that Elon positions himself as the “dogefather” because he bandwagoned a cryptocurrency and then he was the one to briefly sink the price because he’s such a dumbass.
Here’s the thing Musk did on Weekend Update about cryptocurrencies.
Last thing: I saw some of the tweets about this SNL skit, “Gen Z Hospital” and how it’s misrepresenting AAVE as the language of (white) Gen Zers. I couldn’t even finish watching the skit, I was cringing so hard.
Screencap courtesy of SNL, additional photo courtesy of Avalon Red.
My husband and I bought some Dogecoin and expected people to sell during the episode — not because Elon sucked but because people expected his appearance to push Dogecoin up and to sell at the high. We also expect it will rally back this week as people buy at the low. So ya, it’s extremely volatile but this was predictable.
Next crypto was never going to be doge. It’s ethereum and the price is already up there. I’m not sure how dogecoin was suddenly the one to grab. Someone floated rumors and people didn’t know how to track to see if it was true.
I said it on the 1st post. Musk was awful on rick and morty and other appearances. He was going to be awful on SNL. But his terrible, flat joke deliveries had no impact on dogecoin. That’s just a coincidence.
We made 16k off doge so I’m not complaining. Sold a bunch then bought more when it tanked. I like that he talked about having Asperger’s. It explains a lot and makes me more tolerant of him. I taught children on the spectrum for nearly ten years.
“I’m the first person with Asperger’s to host the show.”
I thought he did a tremendous job.
My fave was the Chad skit.
he wasn’t and he didn’t. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
👏🏻 😂
We can, however, acknowledge it is a big step forward for people on the spectrum that he publicly proclaimed his diagnosis.
I’m not sure it’s such a great step forward, Musk is a a-hole and it’ll contribute to the stereotype that Aspi are socially-awkward and cold-hearted “geniuses” which isn’t the case (cuz Musk ain’t a genius: he was born rich and bought companies that had hired smart people, but he’s no rocket scientist). Most people with Asperger’s care about their fellow humans, they won’t drive their employees to burn outs, won’t bust unions or accuse ppl of being pedophiles just because they’re contradicted.
All things considering, it was a solid episode. I wish Elon hadn’t hosted, but the writers did a decent job of giving him roles he could handle and working in some jokes at his expense for those of us who wanted to see him roasted.
Also I’m guessing the reason the currency dropped was the Weekend Update skit where the entire joke was that Elon can’t explain crypto in a way that makes reasonable sense.
I don’t know why he said that when Dan Aykroyd, who has Asperger’s, has hosted SNL.
It was such a weird thing to say and in no way true. But I guess he’s the first person to talk about it in the monologue. Has Darryl Hannah hosted? Im googling that right now . . . Her and several others on the spectrum: https://www.thethings.com/twitter-lashes-out-at-elon-musk-who-claims-hes-the-first-snl-host-to-have-aspergers-syndrome/
I didn’t watch but my husband did and thought Elon was fine. He’s not a stan but he also has some grudging respect for Elon.
My son is on the spectrum so I was happy Elon revealed his diagnosis. The more people who are open about it, especially someone as famous as Musk, the more likely we are to achieve some acceptance of a disorder that is so misunderstood. My son is in college and rarely has disclosed his diagnosis to anyone. Even his counselor in the disability office, who is a an autism specialist, said he should try to keep his specific diagnosis private when asking for accommodations from professors because she says they would be likely to regard him negatively if he did. 🙁
We knew about Dan Aykroyd’s Aspergers but maybe they didn’t count him as a host since he was such a beloved cast member.
I can’t stand E.M., but I really liked all the Digital sketches — “Chad on Mars” in particular. Thought he did pretty well when the Power of Editing was involved, lol
I agree!!!! This was the funniest show in years!! I thought he was hilarious. And his performance had NOTHING to do w the crypto crash…cryptos crash regularly and go right back up. People need to understand that cryptos are 24/7…not market hours. Keep your Doge…it will go back up eventually.
I thought he was hilarious. He was all in it in the sketches and looked like he was having a blast. The monologue when his mom came out I thought fell flat but the Mars and a few others he did were laugh-out-loud funny. At least to me! It takes balls to host a show when you know going in people are rooting against you and hate you already.
It wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t great, but honestly when has SNL been great lately? I haven’t cared much since the Tina, Amy, and Maya years. So, I tuned in, expecting it to be a mess, but it wasn’t. I probably won’t watch again this season. Maybe in the fall? I just don’t think they do a great job with the guest hosts, and the cast and material they have right now just isn’t there for me. Colin Jost will never be a Jimmy Fallon. Kate McKinnon annoys me.
I like that he showed once again that autistic people can be successful, intelligent innovators. Hopefully this can help autistic kids dealing with bullies at school and the public perception of autism.
Right. The comments under the YouTube videos, especially his monologue, were extremely supportive & similar to what you said.
He did great with his monologue. The rest of the skits were SO bad, I couldn’t make it through any of them.
And sorry, not sorry, Jimmy Fallon was the WORST performer of his SNL era. While I don’t like Colin Jost either at least the dude can make it through most of his lines without breaking. Fallon never did.
@ Veronika So agree with w/ you about Fallon. Never got why he was so popular for his comedian skills. He is so generic and super irritating both to look at and to listen to as he tries to be funny which he is most definitely NOT> HE panders to his guests and who wants to watch that?
Yes, I said something similar above. When my son was in middle school and high school I wished so much for more examples of successful public figures to tell him about when he was feeling extra down on himself.
The autism community on Twitter seemed torn, though, wishing for “less of an a-hole” to be the newest public face of ASD.
He’s not an innovator; he’s only ever taken on companies after the innovative tech was created by others, or hired others to do the innovating. His success was jump-started or maintained by inherited wealth and government subsidies.
And his is, himself, a bully. He’s a union buster. He opened his factories in defiance of COVID restrictions, demanding people dependent on those salaries put their lives at risk for his bottom dollar. Not to mention the smear campaigns he’s launched on twitter.
As someone on the spectrum, I’m happy to draw inspiration elsewhere.
Being on the spectrum doesn’t mean you too can’t become a tyrant business person and innovating billionaire!
He’s pretty bad, but the things he’s doing aren’t always. I think he used his diagnosis for good press and self promotion.
Yes. When people with his brains and financial means are leading the way for Mars exploration and AI… we need to talk ethics. He really frightens me because the implications of what he is doing could be simply disastrous. He’s like a mad scientist.
I don’t know enough about him as a person to comment on any of that. I’m just happy to have another public figure open up about autism so that when my brilliant autistic children feel bad about themselves because of cruel kids at school, there’s someone to point to and say “look how far he went in the world, autism is nothing to be ashamed of” Of course I would love to have more non problematic people to look to, but I can certainly appreciate his willingness to publicly disclose his diagnosis.
I think he’s insufferable. He has gotten great PR for his supposed genius but he invested Daddy’s money. He comes from wealth so I wasn’t surprised with his shitty actions/words this past year. I think he is totally TA.
I understand what some of you are saying about him being a good role model for on the spectrum kids but surely there are better role models than him.
If you haven’t read his first wife’s writing on Elon and their marriage, read it. He treated her pretty bad. Notice how all of his women suddenly have blonde hair. This AH evidently pressures his wives and girlfriends into going blonde for him. Just so gross.
@Leigh, the union-busting and violating COVID restrictions are his BUSINESS practices, not personal ones. If you’re pointing out someone as a role model, you should probably take the time to be more aware of what values and behavior they’re actually modelling.
Also: Adam Young, Satoshi Tajiri, Darryl Hannah, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Dr. Vernon Smith, Dan Harmon, or Hannah Gadsby. Just to name a handful.
Or maybe just emphasize to your kids they don’t have to achieve anything, beyond making themselves happy and generally positive contributions to society, to be successful. While yeah, it’s good to know great things are still possible, people with ASD don’t have to somehow excuse their diagnosis by outpacing their peers. That IS a common misconception, that ASD is only “acceptable” when it comes with genius abilities and intelligence, and I’ll tell you right now that does its own harm.
I’m going to get on a little pedestal for a moment here. I also have aspergers! It can be challenging for sure (especially because I’m a black woman and people like to think these things don’t effect us.) But I do social therapy, voice therapy and practice a lot of mindfulness.
I hate Elon Musk.
I know he has done some good things for the environment and some cool stuff for space, but let us not forget that the reason he is doing space exploration is because he thinks we should colonize Mars and ditch the planet we are on which is SO something a 1%er would say because only they can fantasize about getting on a space ship and leaving behind a mess they helped to make while all the poor and middle class just died.
He also has made transphobic comments in the past, he accused a diver who helped rescue people of being a pedophile all because he didn’t get to go and save the day because again all it took was one person and not a millionaire’s machine, and AND he has been notoriously anti-mask, and a COVID denier with tweets about how there are not as many deaths as we think. Let us also not forget his “red pill” republican nonsense and how he didn’t care if Tesla factory workers died from COVID because he didn’t want to close his factory for a quarantine. So instead he wants to pick it up and move it to Texas.
All of this is to say I don’t really care if he has Aspergers and part of me wonders if he even does or if it was just a precursor to him saying “I’m going to do bad here but no one can mock me because I said I’m on the spectrum.” And his little space Karen fans ate that sh*t up about how brave he was and how he did so good and how SNL is so lucky to have him. Guess what? I have Aspergers. So I’m going to go ahead and just dunk on him and say he did trash.
He was horrible. It wasn’t the writing the skits would have been funny with someone else, he has no comedic presence, no timing and no reason to do SNL besides to let everyone know that space Karen can do whatever he wants and Redditor’s will follow. Also Grimes was so cringe. End rant!
“space Karen” Love it!
And a YES! to everything you wrote about him.
I hear you. And as the parent of a young man on the spectrum, I think I understand where you are coming from. My first thought was why did he choose to reveal his diagnosis now? But after talking to my husband I came around to hoping maybe his announcement will help foster a better understanding of ASD.
I didn’t realize it was unknown though. Unless he’s been acting this whole time, his mannerisms clearly indicate that he’s on the spectrum. I honestly thought he was just saying it because everyone already knows but not everyone has seen him in a live appearance.
I had no idea. My husband read his biography and said there was no mention of it.
Esmom – I could be confusing him with Bill Gates. I’m not sure how often I’ve seen Must speak live, but there’s no question about his mannerisms. I would’ve have known immediately if I hadn’t known. I do want to see people on the spectrum better recognized. So many have lived frustrating lives for not getting the proper social support, but Musk is probably not a great role model. He seems to delight in his lack of empathy and as also discussed in this thread he’s far from the only person on the spectrum to have hosted SNL so why make that claim?
Space Karen lol! And right, I forgot about how he trashed the scuba diver rescue guy that saved the kids in Thailand when his own idea didn’t work. So low.
Agree with all you said. I couldn’t even watch all his SNL skits, they were so bad and not funny. It felt like a giant PR campaign to make him more likable and help spread his ideas.
I blocked him when he tweeted to “take the red bill” (and Ivanka cheerfully replied “Taken!”). I shudder at his influence on young people, especially young men. As a person, though, he has always struck me as someone who, himself, is highly suggestible and easily persuaded, so.
I have watched every episode of SNL for the last 20+ years except for this episode and Cinnamon Hitl3r’s.
I cannot get behind Elon. Everyone gives his problematic behaviour a pass because he made a fancy car and bought a space company?
Side note – some people who were fans but aren’t anymore like to say (example) Che and Jost aren’t Jimmy and Tina (again just an example) but in my opinion you just need to accept the change or not watch because there will always be past favourites you like more. It doesn’t mean you have to compare them and make it negative for someone else who does still enjoy it.
I’ll never understand the love for Fallon. He was the worst.
@VERONIKA— Yes! And he still is! Did his awful fake over-laughing start on SNL or wait until he started hosting his talk show? It’s soooo bad!
Though, admittedly, I do like the little games he gets big celebrities to play. Jason Momoa in water wars? I mean…
EXACTY! And to top it off the stories out there about him are not good.
The last good WUs were with Tina Fey and Seth Meyers, and then Tina and Amy.
If this guy wasn’t born in South African Republic, he’d be considering running for President and we would have another Trump situation on our hands
I’m glad there are people who get some good out of him revealing his neurodivergance. But admittedly, I find it weird for anyone to be like if Elon can with Aspergers than I can….
If Elon can what exactly? I don’t understand what he’s done that’s worthy of admiration.
He’s so peculiar looking. Just found out he had chin work and hair transplants, which I didn’t know because my interest in him is nil.
I thought it was an old picture of Christopher Reeve! I looked at pictures when Musk was younger (with his first wife!) and he definitely looks different.
I can’t judge people for getting work done, especially people who have been abused or bullied. I read his story and he had it really rough at school. It makes me wonder about his motivations: hot girl in college, hotter wife, younger wife, money, fame, power. Spilling the Asperger’s thing at the beginning set the audience to be compassionate with his quirks, to cushion failure.
He’s got a dark side for sure but he’s interesting.
It’s his choice to have work done. I’m saying he looks strange after the work, like things don’t match. He’s just not attractive to me at all.
Everyone:
Please look up the origins of “asperger’s”.
It’s not used anymore, because it’s literally named after a nazi, the nazi who decided who would live, or be sent to the camps.
It’s not an official diagnosis anymore.
Thank you.
came here to say this. please look up the origin of that term; it is incredibly offensive and not the appropriate term at all.
Serious question- what is the proper term? ASD? My nephew is on the spectrum, but I’m still not sure what the proper medical label is- we only refer to the diagnosis as ‘on the spectrum,’ which is a little clunky.
Yes, ASD.
Did SNL or anyone comment on him doing that whole white power OK sign? I saw that on Twitter and just sighed. He sucks. The end.
Frankly, he sucked as an actor. The writing was there for it to be funny, but at the end what I did was cringe.
I watched the episode live, and Elon Musk has zero comedic timing. They definitely put him in very small roles where he wouldn’t have to say much, that’s for sure. I don’t know if any of the skits made me laugh out loud but the one about the party where everyone stood around not really knowing how to make conversation with people after more than a year of COVID19 was very relatable. I was surprised when he revealed his Asperger’s diagnosis because I couldn’t remember if he had ever talked about it and now a lot of his behavior makes more sense in terms of his awkwardness on social media. I honestly don’t care if he was the first or second or third. He most likely had no idea about Dan Aykroyd–my guess is he said that on the fly because if that had been planned I think Lorne Michaels would have said something. If it helps some people out there with their diagnosis, good!
There was a really touching clip with Miley Cyrus singing in the beginning of the episode in lieu of a traditional cold open. She would pause and then the cast members of SNL all did funny bits with their moms who all attended the show as guests for Mother’s Day. It was very touching and I loved seeing how all the cast members looked like their moms (especially Pete Davidson)! Elon’s mom was there too and so was Grimes. I didn’t realize she played Princess Peach in that Mario skit, I really don’t know what she looks like.
I’m just looking forward to Anya Taylor-Joy hosting in a couple weeks. That’s all I have to say about that.
Keegan Michael Key next week is going to rock!
It was better than I expected, some parts made me laugh. I didn’t know that his mom was the model that I see everywhere in print!
I’m sure that Elon was told he had Asperger’s when he received a diagnosis , so it makes sense to me that he wouldn’t say that he was on the Autism spectrum instead but with all the feedback, maybe he will going forward.
All I have to say is Ego Nwodim is currently my favorite cast member. I love her so much. She is so talented, extremely funny, and never flubs her lines. She is going to be a huge star.
She is really really really talented, isn’t she?!?
I adore her.
And on the superficial side of things she is truly GORGEOUS.
Quite a few of the current SNL performers are excellent & you can see them doing their best with their skits but they need better material. I cannot remember the name of the actor that plays Zuckerberg/Prince William/Eric Trump? He is a pro & is an underrated talent.
Alex Moffat. He is truly hysterical and underrated. His ‘guy that just bought a boat’ is so funny.
Yup gotta agree with you she is gorgeous ! Bowen Yang is another one I enjoy watching. Have you seen the skit where Ego and Daniel Kaluuya play the parents of a young adult who they want to become a doctor but he wants to be an artist. It was hilarious !
Elon Musk built a car that is supposed to help planet earth not rely on fossil fuels. Elon Musk then goes and invest and advertises crypto currency which has one of the worst carbon footprints on the planet and is projected to add 2 degrees to the earth warming up in the next few years. Pick a side Elon, save the world or aim for being a trillionaire.
oh he’s chosen
I didn’t watch, but I read about him revealing he’s on the spectrum.
I’m conflicted about Elon. I can’t stand him as a person, he’s wildly problematic and has an ego the size of Mars. But he is very smart and innovative.
My son was recently diagnosed as being on the spectrum. I know it’s not really called aspergers or even high functioning…most people don’t know he has it becasue he’s able to navigate his world for the most part.
So I am happy to see such a high profile person share their diagnosis, because hopefully it will dispell some negative stereotypes. But…I really wish that he wasn’t such an a-hole!! I don’t want society to excuse his bad behaviors as him just having aspergers. That doesn’t help anything.
I’m glad Elon decided to reveal his diagnosis, the more people who talk about it openly will lead to a greater acceptance. Stigma against those in the spectrum is still so widespread, leading to bullying and discrimination.
My family member has never been formally diagnosed, but he’s clearly on the spectrum. Although he is high functioning, his lack of diagnosis and treatment make it difficult for him to connect emotionally with people. I can’t help but think that his life would’ve been so much better if he’d been able to seek treatment and acceptance early on
They don’t waste ink on putting government stamps on those papers, honey.
It was painful to watch him trying to act and be likeable again! Bridging up asperger’s for a sympathy point?? Hate that Grimes is with him I really like her as an artist.
I feel bad for her. In my personal experience, when you’re a young “cool girl/not one of THOSE girls” it’s all too easy to find yourself in toxic relationships where your partner reflects your own internalized loathing and underdeveloped worldview.
It was a tolerable episode and he didn’t entirely disgrace himself, but there were no segments that really lit up the internet: Zillow, or Mom got a robe for Christmas, etc.
It’s annoying that everyone treats him as some sort of genius: he’s the financier of others’ ideas and takes credit for everything that comes out of his company.
I more than tripled my investment in Doge. I’m out now until the next cycle.
Am I the only one who thinks he looks just like Conan in the first pic?
Not a fan of Elon Musk. I completely reject his Occupy Mars project.
I also reject Jeff Bezo and his space projects.
Spending enormous amounts of time, money, and frankly, ego, in pursuit of space projects has never made sense to me.
Instead work to repair planet Earth, please.
Musk strikes me as a PR genius. As in, he spends a good deal of his promoting himself as a genius.
Now, I nominate Dean Kamen for actual Genius. He invented medical products in dialysis, a wheelchair that can stand the chair up so the user is able to be at an eye level with others, the chair also goes up over curbs and can climb up a staircase (which is a real accomplishment of design, family member is wheelchair dependent and when I saw this chair, I wept! over 20+ years ago. To see that someone was even trying to create anything in this field is huge, IMO.)
As far as EM being a spokesperson or role model, I’m not certain he would be my choice.
OTOH, any public acceptance of anyone with a disability is to be encouraged, IMO.
#1. Btw, I didn’t know Dan Ackroyd was ASD. Isn’t David Byrne from Talking Heads also?
Highly creative talented people.
#2. How did Jimmy Fallon ever get hired for SNL? Never found him funny and he rarely got thru a skit w/o breaking and giggling. Was he a writer first, then moved to on air?