A deepfake video falsely portraying Elon Musk promoting a $20 million cryptocurrency giveaway has gone viral, creating confusion and concern. The video, which appears to show Musk endorsing a fake crypto event, directs viewers to a fraudulent website, Elon4u.com, which is designed to scam users. The video claims Musk will be giving away $20 million in cryptocurrency starting from December 13 and urges viewers to visit the website and complete a simple process to receive their share. However, Musk and his companies have made it clear that they are not involved in any such crypto giveaways, with warnings circulating online urging people to avoid falling for this scam.
The viral video was first shared by DogeDesigner on X (formerly Twitter), who warned that this was a deepfake and not a legitimate promotion from Musk. While Musk’s focus was on warning against this crypto scam, he also reignited his public feud with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Musk suggested that Gates, who has taken a short position against Tesla, could face bankruptcy if Tesla becomes the world’s most valuable company. Currently, Tesla’s market value stands at $1.251 trillion, far behind Apple, whose market cap is at $3.729 trillion. For Tesla to overtake Apple, it would need to grow by nearly 200%.
Musk’s comment on X regarding the short position was clear: If Tesla succeeds in becoming the most valuable company, Gates’ short position could lead to substantial financial losses. A short position involves betting that a stock’s price will fall, so if the stock price rises, the investor faces losses.
