SNL Video: Elon Musk Reveals He Has Asperger Syndrome, Stops Short of Testing NBC Censors During Monologue

Ryan Schwartz
·3 min read
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Saturday Night Live host Elon Musk made an unexpected announcement during his opening monologue when he revealed he has Asperger syndrome.

When disclosing the neurodevelopmental disorder, Musk incorrectly claimed that he was “making history” as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL — “or at least the first to admit it,” he said. “So, I won’t make a lot of eye contact with the cast tonight. But don’t worry, I’m pretty good at running ‘human’ in emulation mode.”

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After laying out his vision for the future, the Tesla CEO acknowledged that he was a controversial choice to host NBC’s long-running sketch series. “I know I sometimes say or post strange things [on the Internet], but that’s just how my brain works,” he explained. “To anyone I have offended, I just want to say, I reinvented electric cars and I’m sending people to Mars in a rocket ship. Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?

“A lot of times, people are reduced to the dumbest thing they ever did,” he continued, referring to his infamous dazed and confused appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. “Now, all the time I hear, ‘Elon Musk, all he ever does is smoke weed on podcasts.’ Like I go from podcast to podcast, lighting up joints. It happened once. It’s like reducing O.J. Simpson to ‘murderer.’ That was one time.

“Fun fact: O.J. also hosted this show in ’79, and again in ’96,” he said. “Killed both times.” (In actuality, Simpson hosted SNL only once, in 1979.)

SNL’s decision to tap Musk as one of its final Season 46 hosts caused internal strife at the late-night sketch series following the April 24 announcement. The backlash on social media was swift — and Musk seemed to revel in the hullabaloo at the time, cryptically tweeting, “Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is,” tacking on a devil emoji for good measure. The tweet prompted a rebuke from cast member Bowen Yang, who commented via Instastory, “What the f–k does that even mean?”

During his monologue, Musk stopped short of following through on his promise. “One reason I’ve always loved Saturday Night Live is because it’s genuinely live,” he said. “We’re actually live right now, which means I can say something truly shocking… like I drive a Prius.”

Afterwards, the SpaceX founder was joined by his mother, Maye Musk, who asked that her son gift her anything but Dogecoin for Mother’s Day. The bit was preceded by a Mother’s Day-themed cold open that included musical guest Miley Cyrus and all the moms of SNL — which you can watch here.

What did you think of Musk’s monologue — and the episode overall? Press PLAY on the video above, then drop a comment with your full review.

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