It was probably the most stressful week in the history of Studio 8H. When the news broke that the tech billionaire was going to be the Elon Musk host Saturday Night Live choice for May 8, 2021, the internet basically had a collective meltdown. People were furious. Cast members were posting cryptic, sad emojis on Instagram. It felt less like a comedy show and more like a high-stakes cultural experiment that could go south at any second.
Honestly, it did go south for some people.
We’re talking about a guy who doesn't exactly scream "natural comedic timing." He’s a billionaire who builds rockets and runs Tesla, not a guy who spent years doing improv in a basement in Chicago. But the ratings? They were massive. For three years, that episode held the title of the highest-rated SNL broadcast until Ariana Grande finally knocked it off its pedestal in late 2024. People tuned in because they wanted to see a train wreck. What they got was… well, it was definitely something.
The Monologue That Changed the Narrative
Musk walked out in an all-black outfit, looking about as nervous as you’d expect a guy to be when he’s stepping onto the most famous stage in television. But then he did something nobody saw coming. He revealed he has Asperger’s syndrome.
He joked that he was the first person with Asperger’s to host the show, or "at least the first to admit it." It was a rare moment of vulnerability from a guy usually known for trolling people on X (which was still Twitter back then). He poked fun at his own robotic monotone. He basically said, "Look, I know I post weird things, but I reinvented electric cars and I'm sending people to Mars. Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?"
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It worked. Sorta. It gave him a shield against the critics who were ready to pounce on his lack of acting chops. He even brought his mom, Maye Musk, out for a Mother's Day bit. It was wholesome, weird, and peak Musk all at once.
The Sketches: Wario, Cowboys, and Cringe
If you’re looking for the definitive list of what happened during the actual show, it was a mixed bag of "okay" and "please make it stop."
The "Wario" sketch is the one everyone remembers. Musk played the Mario villain in a courtroom setting, and his then-girlfriend Grimes made a cameo as Princess Peach. It was absurd. It was colorful. It was exactly the kind of thing you'd expect from a guy who lives on the internet.
Then there was the "Gen Z Hospital" sketch. Imagine a middle-aged billionaire trying to use slang like "no cap" and "bestie." It was physically painful to watch. Some critics called it the death of comedy. Others thought it was a brilliant meta-commentary on how out of touch everyone is. You’ve probably seen the clips; they still circulate when people want to talk about "cringe" culture.
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A Breakdown of the Night's Biggest Moments
- The Dogecoin Disaster: This was the big one for the finance nerds. Musk appeared on "Weekend Update" as a financial expert named Lloyd Ostertag. Every time Michael Che asked him "What is Dogecoin?", Musk gave a more confusing answer. Finally, he called it a "hustle."
- The Result? The price of Dogecoin plummeted by nearly 30% while the show was still on the air. People lost actual money because of a comedy sketch.
- The SpaceX Sketch: He played a version of himself trying to save a colony on Mars after a guy's head explodes. It was standard SNL fare, but it felt a bit like a Tesla commercial.
- The Chad Sketch: Pete Davidson’s recurring character "Chad" went to Mars with Musk. It was probably the most natural Musk looked all night, mostly because Chad doesn't require the other actor to do much more than stand there.
The Drama We Didn't See on Camera
Years later, the real tea started spilling. In late 2024, Chloe Fineman posted a video (which she later deleted) claiming that Musk made her burst into tears during rehearsals. Apparently, he sat through her sketch ideas with a blank stare and told her, "It’s not funny."
Bowen Yang also hinted at a "host who made multiple cast members cry" during the week. Musk didn't stay quiet about it. He hit back on X, saying that the sketches weren't actually funny until the Thursday before the show. He basically called the writers out for being unfunny, which is a bold move when you're the one hosting their show.
There was also that wild story about Musk pitching a "test" to see how live the show actually was. He allegedly suggested walking out and doing something—let's call it "indecent exposure"—just to see if the censors could catch it. Obviously, that didn't happen. Lorne Michaels has rules, after all.
Why the Elon Musk Host Saturday Night Live Episode Still Matters
We still talk about this episode because it represented a shift in how SNL handles power. Usually, the show mocks billionaires. Here, they gave one the keys to the kingdom.
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Critics like those at The Atlantic and Cracked argued that the show was "fawning" over him. They felt the writers were too scared to actually poke fun at his controversies, like his stance on labor unions or his early COVID-19 comments. Instead, they made him a goofy "Dogefather."
But from a business perspective? It was a masterclass.
- Global Reach: It was the first time SNL was live-streamed on YouTube to over 100 countries simultaneously.
- Ratings: It pulled in 7.3 million viewers. To put that in perspective, most episodes struggle to hit 4 or 5 million these days.
- Cultural Footprint: Whether you loved it or hated it, you were talking about it on Sunday morning.
What Can We Learn From This?
If you're a brand or a creator, there’s a lesson in the chaos of the Elon Musk host Saturday Night Live moment. Controversy is the ultimate fuel for visibility. Musk didn't need to be a good actor; he just needed to be Elon Musk.
Actionable Takeaways for the Curious:
- Watch the Monologue: If you want to see a rare moment of "Human Musk," the first three minutes of the show are actually quite insightful regarding his neurodivergence.
- Study the Dogecoin Dip: It’s a classic example of "buy the rumor, sell the news." If a celebrity is hyping an asset before a big TV appearance, the dump usually happens the moment they start talking.
- Context Matters: When you see Musk slamming SNL today (like his recent digs at Dana Carvey’s impression of him), remember that he was once the guy on that stage. The relationship between him and the show is complicated, to say the least.
The episode wasn't the funniest 90 minutes of television, but it was a snapshot of a very specific moment in time. It was when the worlds of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Studio 8H collided. It was messy, it was awkward, and honestly, it was kinda unforgettable.