Jimmy Kimmel has responded to Elon Musk after the billionaire called the late-night host an “unfunny jerk” for jokes he made about Tesla.
On Wednesday, March 19, Kimmel made fun of Musk and Tesla during his show, as protests and arson attacks against the electric car company continue in the U.S.
In an interview with Fox News, Musk referred to the protesters as “deranged,” but Kimmel wasn’t sympathetic. “Let me explain it for you: When you pull out a chainsaw to celebrate firing thousands of people, they get mad,” Kimmel joked.
He added, “My god. I mean, this poor guy. You do one, maybe two Nazi salutes, and everybody gets all bent out of shape!”
Musk responded on his own social media platform, X, calling Kimmel a “jerk” and then adding, “He’s such an unfunny jerk.”
In response to Musk’s comments, Kimmel took another shot during his monologue on Thursday, March 20. He said, “Tesla is not having a good week. Today, they recalled nearly all 46,000 of their Cybertrucks. That’s the eighth Cybertruck recall since November 2023. In 15 months – 8 recalls.”
Kimmel continued, “I mentioned last night that multiple Teslas were burned at a Tesla facility in Las Vegas. Authorities are investigating which Teslas were set on fire—and which set themselves on fire,” he joked.
Kimmel also addressed the controversy surrounding Musk. “While no one should ever set anything on fire, people are angry at Elon Musk for putting thousands of Americans, including veterans, out of work. But the MAGA crowd, which has been against violent protests since January 6, 2021, is really upset.”
Last month, Musk made headlines by waving a chainsaw on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference, likely as a symbol of his efforts to challenge the government. Earlier this year, Musk was accused of giving what looked like two fascist salutes during a speech celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Watch Kimmel’s full monologue below:
