Elon Musk, known for his work in electric cars, rockets and brain-chip technology, once explored the world of comedy. Back in 2017, Musk decided it was time to take on satire, teaming up with former Onion editors Ben Berkley and Cole Bolton to launch a new media project called Thud!
Musk, a self-proclaimed fan of The Onion, had previously tried to buy the satirical news site but couldn't close the deal. Instead, he offered Berkley and Bolton $2 million to create something new. According to the Verge, they eagerly accepted and poached a crew of Onion alumni to join them.
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The Birth of Thud!
In March 2018, Musk announced the project in true Musk fashion with a cryptic tweet. He simply wrote "Thud!" and said, "That's the name of my new intergalactic media empire, exclamation point optional." Musk said the name was inspired by "the sound something thick and dull makes when it hits the ground."
But Thud! wasn't just about creating another news parody site. The team wanted to experiment with immersive and absurd satirical experiences, blurring the lines between reality and comedy.
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What Did Thud! Create?
The team developed several offbeat projects that are still floating around online, like DNA Friend, a parody of at-home DNA testing kits that claim to trace ancestry through photos of a person's mouth. TacStorm satirized American gun culture with its fictional gun that never stopped firing, while Ploog humorously advertised a “universal orifice adapter” that baffled audiences. Meanwhile, Mampfen poked fun at restaurant culture in Los Angeles, complete with an actual physical dining guide.
Some of these projects made their way into the real world. For example, a person dressed as a giant spit droplet promoted DNA Friend in New York City.
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The Empire Crumbles
Despite its promising start, Thud! faced serious challenges. Musk, concerned the satire could eventually target his own companies, pulled his funding in late 2018. This forced Berkley and Bolton to buy him out and try to keep the company alive.
Without Musk's backing, Thud! struggled. They had no business plan and couldn't secure new investors. By May 2019, the company shut down. Critics said the projects were clever but not funny enough to build a devoted audience.
The Legacy of Thud!
Today, Thud! is a quirky footnote in Elon Musk's long list of ventures. Its remains – a collection of satirical websites – serve as a digital time capsule of a bold experiment that fizzled out too soon.
Musk may have conquered electric cars and space, but it seems comedy was a frontier he couldn't quite crack. As the now-defunct Thud! website itself put it: "It was very aptly named."
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Stopping Infowars’ X Account Sale to The Onion
In a separate move, Musk recently blocked the sale of Infowars’ social media accounts to The Onion’s parent company. The sale was part of Infowars’ bankruptcy proceedings, but Musk's X Corp. argued that their terms of service prohibited transferring accounts without the platform's consent.
Musk's choice shows that he wants to control how accounts on X are used and passed on. He says that the platform owns the accounts, not the users. While there’s no decision yet, the case is making people think about who owns social media accounts and how companies like X can manage them during bankruptcy.
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