Elon Musk's Fugly New Beard Has The Internet Ripping Him To Shreds

Controversy and criticism seem to follow Elon Musk into every corner of the internet, inside The White House, and even into space. He got backlash when he bought Twitter, causing multiple celebrities to ditch the platform after he became boss. He's regularly shared his opinions on X (after he changed the name from Twitter), and caused confusion with his U-turn on political views and Donald Trump. And when his friendship with the President of the United States led him to take on a job with DOGE, his suggested cuts caused legions of folks to trash Tesla cars (Musk owns part of the car company).

In May 2025, Musk did one more thing to irk the public: he grew a beard. The normally clean-shaven business guy turned up in Washington D.C. on May 21st to hang out with Trump and the president of South Africa (where Musk was born), then to meet with the Senate Committee on Capitol Hill. Not only did Musk ditch the suit and tie for a T-shirt and blazer, but he also ditched his razor, showing up with thin whiskers above and below his mouth.

Musk's facial hair did not go unnoticed, and the people of X had a lot to say about it. "Elon's beard is absurd in its premise," proclaimed one X user. As it turned out, that seemed to be a popular opinion.

There have been times when Elon Musk's hair was even more unflattering than Donald Trump's, and now the founder of SpaceX has the president beat in the realm of facial hair. While Trump is whisker-free, Musk has been out and about sporting facial hair — and people are not impressed. "Ewww. That definitely needs to be shaved off and remain that way," wrote one person on X. Another was a little more colorful in giving his opinion, noting, "It's like he shaved his pubes and glued em on his face."

Musk's beard is on the sparse side, and it did not go unnoticed. "That looks like something I would have done with liquid latex and whatever I found in my hairbrush for my hobo Halloween costume in 1984," noted one X user. Multiple people mentioned hair plugs, citing the SpaceX founder's crown of hair that mysteriously re-appeared after younger photos of him showed a receding hairline. Some joked he must have used the hair that was supposed to be a beard on his head, while others suggested he needed to add face plugs for more whiskers. 

There were also people who used Musk's lack of beard-growing skills to sling more politically inclined zingers his way. As one X'er declared, "Even facial hair can't stand to be around Elon."