Tesla CEO—and prospective new Twitter owner—Elon Musk is known for his eccentric, often boundary-pushing tweets.
But one he posted on Mother's Day crossed a line, at least where Musk's mother Maye was concerned.
On the big day, Elon Musk posted a cryptic tweet about dying "under mysterious circumstances" after a Russian official threatened him for supporting Ukraine. But Maye—a well-known fashion and beauty model for 50 years—wasn't laughing.
She quickly set her son straight with a quote tweet, seen below.
That\u2019s not funnyhttps://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1523465632502906880\u00a0\u2026— Maye Musk (@Maye Musk) 1652060656
In a chiding tweet most of us could probably hear in our own mother's voices, Maye Musk wrote "That's not funny" along with several angry frown emojis.
Maye Musk's hackles were up because of the strange tweet Elon Musk posted earlier that evening, which just read:
"If I die under mysterious circumstances, it’s been nice knowin ya"
The timing of the tweet would imply it was a response to a threat issued to Elon Musk by Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin, who lashed out at him earlier that day for supplying Ukraine's military with his Starlink satellite internet terminals amid the Russian invasion.
Elon appeared undeterred by Rogozin's rhetoric however.
Along with a screenshot of Rogozin's press release in which he claimed the troops Musk supplied with Starlink terminals are "Nazis," he included a tersely worded retort.
The word \u201cNazi\u201d doesn\u2019t mean what he seems to think it doespic.twitter.com/pk9SQhBOsG— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1652057105
Elon Musk wrote:
"The word 'Nazi' doesn’t mean what he seems to think it does."
Rogozin directly threatened Musk for his involvement, writing:
"Elon, you will be held accountable like an adult—no matter how much you'll play the fool."
Given the severity with which Russia and its President Vladimir Putin infamously deal with its enemies and detractors, Elon Musk's quip about dying mysteriously makes a lot more sense—and so does Maye Musk's lack of amusement about it.
For his part, Elon did what he could to keep the atmosphere light, following up with his mom with yet another joke.
Sorry! I will do my best to stay alive.— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1652062650
Many others on Twitter were able to find the humor in the situation.
Maybe @elonmusk's mom should be Twitter CEO. https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026— Katie Yonke (@Katie Yonke) 1652066323
Tell Him Momma\u2026 He\u2019s Being Foolish. https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/WkyJuavpnL— MATRIX \ud83c\udf08 (@MATRIX \ud83c\udf08) 1652063622
Maye Musk: said https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/S1FE0GVWrM— Samson Were (@Samson Were) 1652094440
Haha, @ElonMusk got in trouble with his mom on Mother's Day. \n\n#Relatable https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/PquueBCR1p— Bruno \ud83c\udf1f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2 (@Bruno \ud83c\udf1f \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2) 1652076864
This is exactly like the time I tweeted about my blood pressure numbers and my mom was not happy about it and told me to contact a doctor rather than tweet about it #HappyMothersDayhttps://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026— Uncle Yeet (@Uncle Yeet) 1652064339
I guess no matter how rich you are your mama can yell at you.https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026— Alberto Lopez (@Alberto Lopez) 1652135139
Elon musk getting told off by his mam on his own platform ahahahhahttps://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026— Noot \u26bd\ufe0f (@Noot \u26bd\ufe0f) 1652134587
What mum says goes! Even for @elonmusk https://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026— Al Jazzura (@Al Jazzura) 1652101471
Nothing like that verbal slap from your mother @elonmuskhttps://twitter.com/mayemusk/status/1523478931587837954\u00a0\u2026— Jessica Ellis (@Jessica Ellis) 1652123534
Here's hoping Maye's Mother's Day got better from here.
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
@thenormajeane5/TikTok
