Elon Musk’s announcement on Twitter that he is “going offline for a few days” has sparked the curiosity of thousands of netizens, who rushed to share their ideas about the reasons behind the apparently abrupt move.
Some suggested that the visionary, whose company is working on sending people to Mars, is heading to the red planet himself - or even further.
He’s going to Mars!!!!
— Nick Martin (@naturenick) October 17, 2019
It's because theres no wifi on Mars
— Mars (@4thFromOurStar) October 17, 2019
Must be headed to Mars for the weekend.
— Josh (@JoshManMode) October 18, 2019
Where 2? A galaxy far far away
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 17, 2019
Other theories were more down-to-earth and creepy.
Probably just going to spend time watching hentai in bed
— Ken Xyro 🎃 ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ (@KenXyro) October 17, 2019
Many suggested that when one owns a multi-billion-dollar company, one needs a break from time to time…
He runs multiple billion dollar businesses. Give him a break
— Mariq (@GimmeVbucks) October 17, 2019
Have a good break, man. You’ve got our backs, and we’ve got yours, brother. @SpaceX @Tesla
— TesLatino (@TesLatino) October 18, 2019
…or shared their despair over Musk leaving Twitter and insisted that it would not be the same without him.
twitter won’t be the same without you
— CoffeeMaestro (@coffeemaestro_) October 17, 2019
Others begged him to come back after his break.
don’t black out your profile please elon
— Hooverr (@Hooverr) October 17, 2019
Hope to see you soon
— Sofiaan Fraval (@Sofiaan) October 17, 2019
Some linked his disappearance to legal proceedings against him.
His stockholders finally got to him, Fs in the chat
— Ford F-150 Owner (@FordOwner10) October 17, 2019
Although Musk has not posted anything on Twitter since then, he has not completely disappeared from the public eye. On 18 October, he spoke to participants of an entrepreneurship forum in the Russian city of Krasnodar after its organisers placed a billboard with an invitation near the SpaceX headquarters.
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The tech tycoon has recently had a lot on his plate thanks to his Twitter habits. Last week, he testified in a defamation case over a 2018 tweet of his. Vernon Unsworth sued the Tesla CEO after the billionaire called him a "pedo guy" in the wake of an interview in which the British diver called Musk’s submarine that he sent to Thailand for a cave rescue mission a publicity stunt.
Elon Musk’s tweet was subsequently deleted, with the business magnate issuing an apology to Unsworth and said that “pedo guy” was “a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up”.
Thanks to the lawsuit, it became known that the eccentric SpaceX founder regularly switches to new smartphones, destroying older ones, Business Insider reported.
"For security purposes, Musk regularly changes his cellular device, at which time his old device is imaged, wiped clean, and stored or destroyed", the outlet said, citing a court document.
The defamation trial is scheduled for 2 December.
