Elon Musk has ignited a fresh online storm after responding ‘Then it is war’ to a Somali TikToker who mocked his age and suggested he was ‘about to die’, prompting sharp debate over whether the exchange crossed into threats or remained a protected insult.
The brief but loaded reply, posted on X, comes amid weeks of controversial commentary from Musk about alleged fraud linked to Somali-American childcare centres in Minnesota.
For critics and supporters alike, the incident has raised wider questions about speech, power and responsibility when disputes unfold in public view.
While some X users saw those words as a veiled threat deserving legal attention, others defended her right to insult without threat. They argued that the TikToker only handed Musk a prediction about mortality. She did not say she would cause his death or that anyone should act violently.
Musk’s reply, threatening war, lacked any follow‑up clarification, leaving X users to interpret his intent.
A Death Threat to Elon Musk?
While there were arguments that the TikToker was not threatening death to Musk, some users showed support for the Tesla CEO in his post.
‘@FBI please find this woman, she just threatened Elon Musk’s life, said one user.
Another user said, ‘Disagree with Elon all you want—but threatening his life is criminal. Law enforcement should act now’.
Other comments referenced the billionaire’s self‑defence and personal safety. ‘Question: If someone threatens your life with intent, why is someone not entitled to self-defence?’
Most of the comments see the TikToker’s words as criminally actionable, implying law enforcement should intervene. For them, any public mention of death directed at a high‑profile individual can count as a threat, even if not explicitly violent.
Defending the Somali TikToker: Insult, Not Threat
A separate group countered that the woman’s statements did not rise to the level of a threat. One user explained her position by rephrasing the comment: ‘She said, ‘You only have money, but you’re ugly, and I wouldn’t worry about you because, at your age, you’re about to die.’ She’ll outlive him’.
This interpretation acknowledges that it’s an insult to the 55-year-old Musk, emphasising that everyone eventually dies, and that saying so is not itself a crime.
Another comment defended the TikToker’s age, saying, ‘She is a child who knows that no matter how much 💰 we have in this world, we’ll one day leave it all behind and stand in front of Allah’.
A third user directly challenged the idea that a threat had been made by accusing Musk of racism and looking for someone to blame, ‘She didn’t threaten, merely predicting. She never said she was intending to harm you. You’re over the top with any little bit of something to oust people of colour.
Musk’s Attack on the Somali Community
The incident did not happen in isolation. In recent weeks, Musk has been posting repeatedly about alleged fraud connected with Somali‑American communities, especially in Minnesota, and linking those allegations to alleged left-leaning politicians using immigrants to make a state one-party.
Musk’s posts have been polarising. They have drawn praise from some who view them as exposing corruption, and criticism from others who say they generalise and inflame ethnic tensions.
The attack came after a viral video by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley showed him visiting multiple child‑care centres in Minnesota that he described as apparently inactive, suggesting they were still receiving taxpayer funding despite not caring for children. He alleged that some centres ‘receive millions of dollars in taxpayer money’ while failing to provide real services.
State regulators and media outlets that visited the childcare centres featured in the video reported that several facilities were operating normally at times outside the YouTuber’s visit hours. For example, parents were dropping off children at one centre even while the video showed a seemingly empty building.
For now, there was no public record that any of the operators of the childcare businesses mentioned in the video had been formally charged with fraud or other felonies.
Originally published on IBTimes UK
