Elon Musk posted on X that billionaires are “tired of subsidizing” public services.

A screenshot circulating on Threads and Instagram claims to show a Feb. 14 X post from Elon Musk, in which he claims that billionaires are tired of paying for public services.

“Here’s the hard truth: this country’s billionaires are tired of subsidizing everyone else’s schools, parks, health care, even food and entertainment,” the supposed post reads. “You want nature? Buy some land. Health care? Befriend a doctor. Entertainment? Roll around in the mud with your fellow pigs.”

But this tweet was fabricated. The quote appears to have originated Feb. 15 on a satirical webpage, and it does not appear on Musk’s X account.

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

The quote in the screenshot originated on a satirical subreddit, r/TolietPaperUSA.  The subreddit’s description offers a warning: “All posts in this subreddit should be considered ironic/parodic/satirical unless they are flaired as *REAL* *and* have a relevant, trustworthy source in the comments (which should be your standard for all internet content anyway).” 

The screenshot of the fabricated X post was reposted to other social media platforms without that warning.

Some signs showed that the screenshot is inauthentic. For instance,  the post says it was posted at “00:56,” without an “AM” timestamp. The date is formatted “2/14/25,” but in an X post, the date would have appeared as Feb 14, 2025.

Although Musk didn’t make this claim, he has commented on similar topics.

In a 2021 interview, Musk said the federal government should “get rid of all subsidies” related to electric vehicles, oil and gas. (His companies, Tesla and SpaceX, have received $38 billion in government support over the years, according to The Washington Post.) 

In a July 16, 2024, X post, he wrote, “Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries!”

For the post in question, Musk did not write it. We rate claims that Musk wrote this X post False.