From “Iron Man 2” to Iron Man too? Elon Musk’s reaction to the attempt on the former president’s life toyed with the idea of a Marvel-ous development.
In the immediate aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, concern for the well-being of the GOP leader and rally-goers spread on social media. As details of the tragedy revealed Trump’s brush with death had cost the life of a spectator, fear of further political violence saw some expressing worry of threats posed to self-styled free speech absolutist, Musk.
The billionaire tech mogul offered a solution to one account suggesting, “You better beef up your security too,” that may as well have been ripped straight from the comic books as he said, “Maybe it’s time to build that flying metal suit of armor.”
Maybe it’s time to build that flying metal suit of armor
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2024
As founder of X Corp, xAI, The Boring Company, and SpaceX as well as being the co-founder of OpenAI and Neuralink, Musk’s prominent position at the cutting edge of technology coupled with wealth has kept him among the top-tier of richest people in the world which has frequently drawn comparisons to a real-world version of Marvel Comics Tony Stark.
The Tesla CEO even famously made a cameo in the 2010 film “Iron Man 2” where he told the Robert Downey Jr.-portrayed Stark that he had “an idea for an electric jet” after receiving a compliment on his Merlin engines.
Tongue-in-cheek or otherwise, Musk, who shared an emphatic endorsement of Trump moment’s after the assassination attempt, acknowledged that there had been multiple credible attempts on his own life in recent months when Ian Miles Cheong remarked, “Please, please triple your protection. If they can come for Trump they will also come for you.”
To that, the X owner responded, “Dangerous times ahead. Two people (separate occasions) have already tried to kill me in the past 8 months. They were arrested with guns about 20 mins drive from Tesla HQ in Texas.”
Dangerous times ahead.
Two people (separate occasions) have already tried to kill me in the past 8 months. They were arrested with guns about 20 mins drive from Tesla HQ in Texas.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2024
In one such instance, it was reported that a man from Orlando, Florida had been arrested in Austin, Texas the day prior to the Tesla Cybertruck delivery event and was charged with a third-degree felony of being a Terroristic Threat for allegedly planning to attack Tesla’s Gigafactory in Texas and Musk.
“I was going to shoot up Elon Musk and the plant,” the suspect allegedly told authorities as he believed, along with Neuralink co-founder Shivon Zilis, that Musk had been monitoring him through cameras.
While many delighted at the possibility of the entrepreneur pursuing another major technological innovation, Musk, with nearly 190 million followers on X, used his considerable platform to continue calling for accountability for the Trump rally tragedy including his asserting on Monday, “If no one gets fired or resigns, everyone should get fired.”
If no one gets fired or resigns, everyone should get fired
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2024
Either way, many should be fired.
Extreme incompetence is indistinguishable from sabotage/conspiracy, but that they failed badly in their job is unquestionably true, therefore they need to go.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2024
Do it!
Become Iron Musk!— $TSLA Tracker (@SBZung) July 14, 2024
Go grok mode with it pic.twitter.com/L4f28sMePV
— Logician (@SpaceX69_420) July 14, 2024
Real life iron man
— Tesla Synopsis (@TeslaSynopsis) July 14, 2024
— Not Elon Musk (@iamnot_elon) July 14, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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