Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday whipped out the expanded route for his recently launched Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas — and the cheeky map resembled a certain male body part.
“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” the billionaire posted on X as he showcased the phallic-shaped map.
The sophomoric humor followed an equally brazen boast by the official Robotaxi account, which announced the new geofenced service with a post that read: “Just expanded our surface area… We’re big eggplant fans!”
Musk added fuel to the conversation by quote-tweeting the post with the phrase, “Bigger, longer and uncut,” followed by a laughing emoji.
Musk’s management of the electric car maker, however, hasn’t been a laughing matter for shareholders as his ties to President Trump and subsequent public breakup has shriveled up Tesla’s stock. Shares are down about 20% since Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Compounding the problems for Tesla has been its problematic rollout of Robotaxis, which has been met with skepticism in light of technical issues and questions over its readiness.
The new Robotaxi service area drew widespread attention not only for its unusual shape, but also for the apparent lack of practical justification for its design.
One industry observer wrote in Electrek that expanding coverage to this particular part of Austin serves no functional purpose and seems intended purely to indulge Musk’s well-known taste for juvenile humor, including his fixation on the numbers “69” and “420.”
In a follow-up tweet, Musk ripped the media’s prickly coverage of his the expanded route, writing, “And they take themselves so seriously.”
The Post has sought comment from Musk and Tesla.
The Robotaxi service has priced its rides at $4.20 — a figure long associated with cannabis culture.
In 2018, Musk famously smoked marijuana during a live episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” prompting widespread media coverage and a year of random drug testing due to SpaceX’s federal contracts.
Musk later admitted he lacked “joint-smoking skills” and said the experience led to intense scrutiny to prove he wasn’t a drug addict.
Musk’s attempt at humor also led to regulatory problems for him and his company. In August 2018, he tweeted: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”
The tweet drew immediate scrutiny and led to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation and settlement.
In court testimony, Musk stated, “420 was not chosen because of a joke; it was chosen because there was a 20 percent premium over the stock price.”
Later, when Tesla stock did in fact hit $420 per share, Musk tweeted, “Whoa … the stock is so high lol,” and replied to a Bloomberg Markets tweet with two laughing emojis: “🤣🤣.”
Musk has made numerous other public jokes referencing the number 420, including pricing SpaceX shares at $419.99 and making offers that contain “420” as a motif. When he acquired Twitter (now X), he offered to buy the company at $54.20 per share.
He has also tweeted, “Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in,” and frequently posts memes and jokes that blur the line between corporate communications and internet comedy.
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