Is Elon Musk worth his weight in gold?
He's certainly worth his weight in bronze colored resin!
In celebration of the Tesla founder's 50th Birthday, a six-foot-bronze-ish statue of Musk was placed in lower Manhattan.
Investment app Public.com broke the news of their gift on Twitter:
And because Elon\u2019s ambition (and maybe ego) is definitely not miniature, we dropped a life-sized statue on 14th St. and The High Line stairs in NYC.\n\nGo say hi. pic.twitter.com/fBO81PF5bR— Public.com (@Public.com) 1624893401
The statue earned decidedly mixed reviews on Twitter.
Many followers questioned the statue's resemblance to Musk.
It's Elon watching another one of his rockets explode on the launch pad— OHGODBEES (@OHGODBEES) 1624902582
What a stunning likeness, so accurate and lifelike.\n\nOh wait, that's not a statue of Gerald Ford?— NeedBirds (@NeedBirds) 1624902243
I think some odd photos are about to go viral because of that pose...— Randy M (@Randy M) 1625012469
That isn't Frank Sinatra wearing a t-shirt?pic.twitter.com/DVC2JxdoFr— Adam Reck at the Gala (@Adam Reck at the Gala) 1624905559
same sort of cultish fanbase?— Ted Anderson (@Ted Anderson) 1624906355
Yeah. If you showed it to me with no context, I would guess at least a dozen other generic dudes before I guessed elon.— \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 rachel (@\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 rachel) 1624903101
Others compared the statue to the infamous bust of soccer star Cristiano Rinaldo.
pic.twitter.com/CgslLeN4q2— Nathan (@Nathan) 1624908364
Others took it as another opportunity to rake Musk across the coals.
All I'm saying is the statue of Doctor Doom in Fantastic Four looks a lot like Elon Musk and Doom was into rockets and space too.\n\nMight be something worth keeping an eye on.pic.twitter.com/KxSlnJkAid— Tom \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Tom \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1620764125
Happy birthday to the river!— Luketheyeti (@Luketheyeti) 1624910411
pls don't throw trash in the river, especially if it's not actually bronze— utility frog (@utility frog) 1624969761
Came from an apartheid family, hates unions, denied COVID so that he could make more money, manipulates stock markets and crypto for his gain, etc.— Elea\ud83c\udff4\ud83d\udea9 (@Elea\ud83c\udff4\ud83d\udea9) 1625013583
Is it sadder that he\u2019s self funding these little sculptures or that the sculptor hates him as much as everyone else does and made his face look like a smudge?— A.M. is drawing (@A.M. is drawing) 1624904325
Yes, because it's so great to worship a trust fund kid who bought a car company.— The Fox Is Back In Town! (@The Fox Is Back In Town!) 1624929902
If you're in the minority in finding something to admire in the statue, you may be in luck.
Public.com is auctioning off the statue on eBay. 100% of the profits are going towards First Generation Investors, a not-for-profit dedicated to teaching high school students in underserved communities all about investing.
So far, the statue has many watchers, 60 bids and a current bid of $2,550.
According to the eBay item description:
"Elon Musk just turned 50 and to mark the occasion, the investing app Public.com created a one-of-a-kind, life-sized Elon statue and displayed it in New York for 5 days. Tesla is one of the most popular stocks among the apps 1 million+ member community."
"Crafted from polyester resin and standing 6-feet tall. Maybe you love him."
"Maybe you think he should tweet less. What you do with the statue is up to you."
"Given their mission of making the public markets work for everyone and support of financial literacy initiatives, the company is donating 100% of the proceeds to First Generation Investors, a 501(C)3 non-profit organization that teaches underserved high school students the power of investing."
"Get your bids in before you-know-who does."
But should the statue not end up finding a home on eBay, one astute Twitter follower pointed out a convenient potential new home.
#ElonMuskMars Starship \u2013 Elon Musk wants to send to Mars is almost ready to launchhttps://dlvr.it/S2nDG4— Deberry Apps (@Deberry Apps) 1625070333
@teddysphotos/Instagram
@IndiaWilloughby/X
@IndiaWilloughby/X