Elon Musk Reveals He Has Asperger's on SNL and Also Introduces His Mom

Billionaire Elon Musk made his Saturday Night Live hosting debut after a great deal of controversy. Scroll to read about his performance.

By Corinne Heller, Kaitlin Reilly May 09, 2021 3:29 PMTags

Elon Musk got personal in his Saturday Night Live debut.

On Saturday, May 8, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, one of the richest people in the world, hosted the NBC sketch series for the first time. The South African-born billionnaire brought along his mom, Maye Musk, as did the cast members and musical guest Miley Cyrus, to celebrate Mother's Day.

During his monologue, Elon also confirmed a longstanding rumor about himself—that he has Asperger syndrome, or Asperger's, which is often considered a high-functioning form of autism.

"Sometimes after I say something, I have to say, 'I mean that.' So people really know that I mean it. That's because I don't always have a lot of intonation or variation in how I speak, which I'm told makes for great comedy," Elon explained. "I'm actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger's to host SNL. Or at least the first to admit it."

Ghostbusters actor Dan Aykroyd rose to fame as an SNL cast member and writer in the '70s and hosted the show in 2003. In 2013, he told The Daily Mail that he has Asperger's and was diagnosed in the early '80s.

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Watch Elon's SNL monologue:

Watch some of Elon's SNL sketches:

Post-Quarantine Conversation:

No need to worry about sounding awkward at your first party since the start of the coronavirus pandemic...because we have all forgotten how to socialize.

Wario:

Elon plays Super Mario Bros.'s second-biggest villain.

Gen Z Hospital:

Millennials offer their take on Zoomers at a time of crisis in this sketch:

Prior to his SNL debut, not everyone was thrilled about Elon, a controversial figure and notably not a performer, hosting the show. Over the last year, the tech mogul has come under fire for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, as well as the vaccine program. He has also been accused of spreading anti-union sentiments on social media, in addition to promoting volatile cryptocurrencies to the masses.

On SNL, Elon was grilled about Dogecoin during the Weekend Update segment.

Elon, who is in a relationship with the singer Grimes, with whom he welcomed the pair's first child together last year, was met with less than friendly vibes from some of the SNL cast prior to his hosting debut. 

On Twitter, Elon shared, "Let's find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is," to which SNL's Bowen Young replied on Instagram Stories, "What the f--k does that even mean?"

Andrew Dismukes also took to his Instagram Stories as well and posted a photo of SNL alum Cheri Oteri, writing, "ONLY CEO I WANT TO DO A SKETCH WITH IS Cher-E Oteri."

After Elon asked his Twitter followers what "skit ideas" he should bring to the stage, Chris Redd also took to social media to quip, "First I'd call Em sketches." Even Chrissy Teigen noticed the tension, writing, "Im so second hand uncomfortable lmao these dynamics." 

Will Heath/NBC

However, not everyone thought Elon was a bad choice for SNLPete Davidson didn't understand the drama, explaining on a recent episode of Late Night With Seth Myers, "I don't know why people are freaking out. They're like, 'Oh, I can't believe that Elon Musk is hosting!' And I'm like, the guy that makes the earth better kinda and makes cool things and sends people to Mars?"

Will Heath/NBC

Michael Che also addressed the controversy during a recent virtual visit to The Wendy Williams Show

"Well, you know what's funny is that, like, I would say I know about 20—25 percent of the white people that get to host the show anyway," he explained. "So Elon, I was like, 'Oh, I know who he is at least.' I don't really know a lot about pop culture, so I really don't ever know who the host is in the first place. But I like that it's kind of polarizing and stuff. To me, it makes it exciting, I mean, everybody wants to watch now, so that's cool."

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)