Elon Musk and PewDiePie troll the media over meme reaction outrage

Elon Musk and YouTube star Felix ‘PewDiePie’ Kjellberg have been trolling media outlets on Twitter about how they behave when the pair react to “dark humor” memes.

PewDiePie is arguably the king of memes on YouTube, with his “Meme Review” show regularly drawing millions of viewers who flock to see the Swede discuss and rate the internet’s latest viral sensations.

While many think of Musk as the figurehead of companies like Tesla, he also has an appreciation of memes, posting them regularly on his Twitter account. With the duo seen as two of the most recognizable men in the world, media outlets often pick up on anything controversial they do, including their reactions to memes that are of a dark-humor variety.

When PewDiePie posted a meme on Twitter that suggested the reason Musk and actor Keanu Reeves were so popular was because the SpaceX boss’ middle name was Reeve, the 47-year-old responded with a meme that compared the reactions of the YouTuber’s fans and media.

In Musk’s image, the ‘9-year-olds’, a term given to fans of the Swede, can be seen laughing along with PewDiePie and the tech giant as they chuckle at a “slightly dark humor meme,” with the image of the billionaire actually taken from his appearance on Meme Review where he broke into fits of laughter after seeing a dead deer in a swimming pool. 

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The reaction from media outlets, according to Musk, isn’t so friendly though, with the image showing an angry boy with a frown on his face.

Elon Musk became a viral sensation in his own right back in October when he made an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, smoking marijuana on the episode. While it may have endeared him to the internet, Tesla stock prices reportedly crashed following the incident, with some outlets asking whether his maverick behavior actually hurts the companies he owns.

PewDiePie has also faced his fair share of criticism from the press, with many labeling him as a right-wing apologists and claiming he is racist for clips and incidents in his past. Back in April, almost 100,000 people signed a petition to have his channel removed for “white supremacist content.”

It hasn’t hampered the pair’s enjoyment of memes though, although whether Musk will ever appear on Meme Review again remains to be seen.