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stated on January 11, 2023 in an Instagram post:

Video shows Elon Musk talking about what “every failed leader” he met had in common.

False

Altered video of Elon Musk uses 2017 interview about the future of transportation

If your time is short

  • This video was altered. Elon Musk did not make these comments in the original. 
 
See the sources for this fact-check

The footage in a recent Instagram post is billed as a “leaked Elon Musk interview.” In reality, it’s an old, widely covered interview with altered audio. 

In the clip, Musk appears to say: “You want to know the one thing that every failed leader that I ever met had in common? They don’t know the job of the people they were in charge of. Just as an example, let’s say you were a cashier. Would you trust your supervisor if push comes to shove, he didn’t even know how to use the register? No, of course you wouldn’t.”

He goes on to seemingly make a crass comment.

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

In the interview from which this video clip was taken, Musk says none of these things. The audio clip in the Instagram post is fabricated. 

The original footage, shared on YouTube by TED in May 2017, shows Musk talking about the future of transportation with TED’s head curator, Chris Anderson

We rate claims that the video clip in the Instagram post is authentic False.

 
Our Sources

Altered video of Elon Musk uses 2017 interview about the future of transportation

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino