Gary Zhou 
Elon Musk seems like he’s interested in being a comedian in his spare time. Over a year after a successful hosting gig at Saturday Night Live (SNL), Musk has hinted that he’s been invited to open for veteran comedian Chris Rock at an upcoming show. The Tesla CEO seems to have accepted the invite.
Musk posted about his invitation on Twitter as a response to a post featuring a segment from his SNL monologue. “Chris Rock invited me to open for one of his shows. Thanks, Chris! I will try not to flounder too much,” Musk wrote.
The Tesla CEO might not be a veteran stand-up comedian, but he does have some good comedic instincts. This became quite evident during the lead-up to his appearance on SNL. Prior to his segment, there were quite a lot of doubts about whether Musk’s performance would be passable or just flat-out cringe.
There were even reports of SNL offering a “safe space” to cast members who were “triggered” by the CEO. But to the surprise of many, Musk actually turned out to be quite funny. His monologue, which featured some self-deprecating humor, was pretty honest and well-received, and his interactions with his mom Maye onstage were wholesome.
With SNL under his belt, Musk is not necessarily coming into a Chris Rock show with zero comedic experience. However, Musk would be wise to prepare as much as he can since Rock’s comedy is a step (or a few steps) above SNL’s. Some stand-up shows have very little tolerance for errors, and audiences also respond strongly to comedians that they do not appreciate.
That being said, Musk does seem to have no issues poking fun at himself, and a lot of his antics, when viewed from a comedic lens, are humorous by nature. Chris Rock is a professional, too, so he would likely provide Musk with ample support to ensure that the Tesla CEO’s segment is as smooth as possible. Musk would probably not run out of material either, considering everything that he is involved in today.
