Comedian Bill Burr bashes 'nerd' Elon Musk amid anti-DOGE backlash
Comedian Bill Burr sharply mocked billionaire Elon Musk in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday night amid a backlash against Musk's efforts to cut government spending and waste.
"Billionaires are not happy having a billion dollars," Burr told Fallon. "Why does Elon Musk dress like he just got out of a Hot Topic? I am so sick of that guy trying to rewrite his origin story like he was Matthew McConaughey pulling into the high school."
Musk told Trump that he was surprised by the increasing severity of protests against his company Tesla, which have included multiple vehicles at a Tesla service center in Las Vegas being set ablaze on Tuesday morning.
The FBI is not ruling out terrorism as a possibility after multiple vehicles at a Tesla service center were set ablaze in Las Vegas. Officials say five vehicles were damaged in the incident, including the two that were set on fire.
FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans told reporters on Tuesday that the incident "certainly has some of the hallmarks" of a terrorist attack, but that it was still too early to say for sure. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force is currently investigating the incident.
The billionaire's close involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made him a target of liberal commentators and politicians who argue that he should not exercise serious influence over public affairs.
Burr criticized Musk's appearance and said that he was not paying his workers in the remainder of the interview with Fallon.
"It's like, 'You were a f------ nerd, nobody banged you, and now you have hair plugs, and your laminated face,'" Burr added. "And everybody is afraid of these nerds. I don't get it. My whole life, feminists were focusing on frat boys and guys with their hats on backwards, and they left the nerds alone. And now look at them."
"They're horrible, heartless people," he continued. "And for some reason, if you say that then you're a communist, and we're in bed with the Russians."
"And then they try to politicize everything that you're saying," Burr said. "And it's just like, 'I don't know, shouldn't you pay your workers?' Don't you remember that when we were growing up, one week's pay paid your rent? You had a little cottage, a little boat, you know? Maybe a second family down the road. That's what you did. You had the money."
Musk responded to a clip of Burr's comments on X by tagging the account "IfindRetards."
Burr has made comments about both sides of the political aisle. Last Monday, the comic previewed his upcoming Hulu comedy special "Drop Dead Years" for NPR's "Fresh Air" podcast, describing it as a way "to get regular people to stop yelling at each other," pushing back on the "select few group of nerds" keeping ordinary people down. He attacked liberals for having "no teeth whatsoever" to fight back against billionaires like Elon Musk.
During his podcast, Burr also attacked the Trump administration for renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Fox News Digital reached out to a representative of Elon Musk's for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
CCTV Script 06/06/25
The war of words between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, which seemed to escalate almost hourly, has already cost real money in the capital markets. Overnight, Musk's personal net worth reportedly fell by approximately $34 billion. By aligning the timing of their social media exchanges with Tesla's stock movements, a clear pattern emerges: as the feud grew more intense, with language becoming increasingly blunt and emotional, Tesla's share price continued to slide. Many analysts believe that Tesla's stock is likely to remain volatile. To assess its future trajectory, we can start with the trigger of this conflict: a recently passed House spending bill. One provision would eliminate tax credits for electric vehicles—directly impacting Tesla. JPMorgan analysts estimate that the new legislation could cut Tesla's annual profits by around $1.2 billion. However, some market observers note that both Musk and others in the industry had long anticipated that the Trump administration would eventually scrap EV subsidies. This expectation has been priced in—it was only a matter of timing. But of even greater consequence is the second layer of impact: the broader regulatory posture of the White House toward Musk, particularly in the autonomous driving space. Timing is critical. Next week, Tesla is expected to debut its long-awaited Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. Progress in self-driving technology has been a key reason many investors remain bullish on Tesla. But the breakdown in Musk's relationship with Trump could undermine those expectations. "there's a view that the battle here going on between musk and Trump, that this is going to continue to sort of, you know, increase, and with that, ultimately does is that autonomous and the regulatory vision does Trump now, now not start to play nice in the sandbox with musk.""Elon Musk, as brilliant as he can be, can also be mercurial and impetuous. CUT TO from a trading perspective, I think the stock could easily trade down into the 250s 260s until you get some support." Beyond the personal feud, the spotlight is also shifting to the broader relationship between Silicon Valley—the U.S. tech hub—and Washington, D.C.—the political center. As Musk and Trump move from allies to adversaries, their split is drawing attention to the evolving dynamic between big tech and federal power. Analysts told CNBC that during Trump's first term, major tech firms often found themselves in the administration's crosshairs. Companies like Meta, Google, and to some extent Apple were all named in antitrust inquiries. Now, the rift between Musk and Trump may open new doors for tech leaders who have had tense relations with Musk. For instance, Jeff Bezos—who also leads a space company—has in recent months made efforts to court Trump more closely, reportedly taking cues from Musk's political playbook. This shift may also present an opportunity for Sam Altman, CEO of AI startup OpenAI. "If you're a startup that's trying to make big names or big headlines with investments for the US, that's probably a good place to be." Still, some analysts caution that this overnight drama may not deserve too much attention. A defining feature of the Trump-era policymaking process has always been its volatility—things can shift dramatically within just a few hours. What ultimately matters is returning to the fundamentals and taking a long-term view of where the industry—and the economy—are heading.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cathie Wood says the Musk-Trump feud reveals how much Musk's companies rely on the government
Ark Invest's Cathie Wood has weighed in on the public feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Wood said the feud reveals how much Musk's companies rely on the US government. Trump said Saturday he had no desire to fix his relationship with the Tesla CEO. The public feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump has shown investors just how much control the US government has over Musk's companies, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood says. "I think the way this is evolving is Elon, Tesla, and investors are beginning to understand more and more just how much the government has control here," Wood said in a video posted to the company's YouTube channel on Friday. Many of Musk's companies have key links to the government and have received billions of dollars in federal loans, contracts, tax credits, and subsidies over the years. "Elon is involved in companies that are depending on the government," Wood said, pointing to Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink as examples. SpaceX's COO, Gwynne Shotwell, said last year that the company has $22 billion worth of federal contracts. Neuralink, Musk's brain chip company, is subject to FDA regulation, and a less friendly regulatory environment could impact Tesla's robotaxi rollout plans. Tesla stock fell more than 14% on Thursday after Musk and Trump became locked in a series of increasingly bitter clashes. The feud appeared to begin, at least publicly, on Tuesday, after Musk criticized Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill." He called it a "disgusting abomination" and said it would increase the national budget deficit. Tensions rose fast between the once-close allies on Thursday. Trump threatened to cut Musk's government contracts and Musk said SpaceX would immediately begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft — which returned stranded NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station in March. Musk later retracted that threat, which Wood said was a sign he was "beginning to walk this back." Wood said the rift with Trump could, in part, be Musk's attempt to further decouple himself from the Trump administration. Musk announced in April that he would be stepping back from his government work. "One of the hypotheses out there is that what has happened was partly — not entirely — orchestrated," Wood said. "Clearly, there has been some brand damage to Tesla, which he readily admits, and I think he's trying to disengage from the government and being associated with one party or the other." Moving forward, Wood said neither Trump nor Musk needed to get "bogged down" with a fight and that she believed both would eventually heed that reasoning. She also appeared to be confident that Musk could make the situation work for him. She said Musk "works really well under pressure" and that "he creates a lot of that chaos and pressure himself." Trump, however, signaled Saturday that he had no desire to fix his relationship with the SpaceX CEO anytime soon. "I have no intention of speaking to him," Trump told NBC News. "I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President," he added. Vice President JD Vance struck a somewhat friendlier tone when asked about the possibility of reconciliation during a Thursday interview with podcaster Theo Von. Vance said that while he thought it was a "huge mistake" for Musk to "go after the president," he hoped Musk "figures it out" and "comes back into the fold." Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Zelensky says he understands Putin ‘much better' than Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian officials understand Russian leader Vladimir Putin 'much better' than President Trump, who has repeatedly said Putin wants peace, even as he rejects U.S. proposals for a ceasefire. 'With all due respect to President Trump, I think it's just his personal opinion,' Zelensky told Martha Raddatz on ABC's 'This Week' in an interview that aired Sunday morning. 'Trust me, we understand the Russians much better, the mentality of the Russians, than the Americans understand the Russians. I know for sure Putin doesn't want to stop the war.' Zelensky also took issue with Trump's comments in the Oval Office this week comparing Ukraine and Russia to children fighting. 'We are not playing in the park with the Russians like two boys, two kids. Putin is not a kid,' Zelensky said. 'So we can't compare, and we cannot say, 'OK, let them fight for a while.'' 'And it's not about President Trump,' he added. 'Anyone living thousands of miles away can't fully understand the pain, even parents who live in Ukraine cannot feel the pain of those who lost their children.' Ukraine stunned Russia last weekend with drone attacks on Russian air bases, which it said destroyed dozens of bombers. The drones were smuggled into Russia on 18-wheeler trucks, which were parked near military bases and remotely opened ahead of the attack. Trump spoke with Putin on Wednesday, telling reporters that Russia planned to retaliate for the drone strikes. Russia killed five people in Ukraine in drone attacks the next day. Raddatz asked Zelensky if he believed Trump thinks Russia is winning the war. 'I think he's publicly said about it, and I know that he shared this information with some people around him, and I think the separation — and I said it a lot of times, it's not true. It's not a victory when you spent, really spent 1 million people,' he said. Zelensky added that Trump 'must' impose stronger sanctions on Russia. Trump this week said he had yet to look at Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) Russia sanctions bill, which is co-sponsored by more than 80 senators, but the president said senators would not move without his blessing. Senators in both parties are itching for the green light. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters that the bill could hit the floor during the current four-week work period. '[The White House is] still hopeful they'll be able to strike some sort of a deal, but … there's a high level of interest here in the Senate on both sides of the aisle in moving on it,' he said. 'I think a genuine interest in doing something to make clear to Russia that they need to come to the table … I think that would have a big impact.' The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
