- Jimmy Kimmel joked about Elon Musk on two shows this week.
- “When you pull out a chainsaw to celebrate firing thousands of people, they get mad,” the host said.
- Musk clapped back and called Kimmel an “unfunny jerk.”
Talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel criticized Elon Musk over two nights as the backlash against the Tesla CEO continued.
The comedian’s jokes came after Musk responded to the way people protested against his EV maker. Tesla showrooms and charging stations have been targeted by arson attacks and shootings.
Musk said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday that Tesla was a “peaceful company” and that he’d “never done anything harmful.”
A clip of the interview was shown on Wednesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and the talk show host referenced the Trump inauguration rally where Musk wielded a chainsaw onstage.
Kimmel said: “Well, let me see if I can explain it for you: when you pull out a chainsaw to celebrate firing thousands of people, they get mad! This poor guy, you do one, maybe two Nazi salutes, and everybody gets all bent out of shape.”
Musk reacted to the jokes in an X post, calling Kimmel an “unfunny jerk.”
The talk show host has been a vocal critic of Musk and President Donald Trump, and even called out Trump onstage at the 2024 Oscars.
Kimmel doubled down on Musk on his Thursday show, continuing to poke fun at the Tesla CEO and highlighting Tesla’s Cybertruck recall.
“Tesla is not having a good week. Today they issued a recall of nearly all 46,000 of their Cybertrucks. That’s the eighth Cybertruck recall since they came out in November of 2023. It’s 15 months — eight recalls,” he said.
“I mentioned last night multiple Teslas were burned at a Tesla facility in Las Vegas. Authorities are now investigating which Teslas were set on fire — and which set themselves on fire.”
Kimmel continued to joke about violent protests and suggested that some were seemingly more acceptable than others.
“And while no one should be setting anything on fire, ever, people are mad at Elon Musk for randomly and gleefully putting thousands of Americans out of work, including veterans. But the MAGA gang, which has been very against any kind of violent protest since January 7, was it? 2021? That’s when they started being against it — they are highly upset,” he said.
Musk did not respond to Kimmel’s second joke on X.
