Fact Check: Did Elon Musk repost meme branding Americans using federal programs as ‘parasite class’?

WASHINGTON, DC: Elon Musk seems to have landed in yet another controversy. Earlier this month, a screenshot of what appeared to be a post from the SpaceX and Tesla boss started making the rounds online.

Musk appeared to repost a meme featuring actress Sydney Sweeney along with the caption: "Watching Trump slash federal programs knowing it doesn't affect you because you're not a member of the Parasite Class."

Musk added his own commentary above it. "Why 90% of America loves @DOGE 😂" he wrote.

Of course, DOGE isn’t just a meme coin anymore. It now stands for the US Department of Government Efficiency—a newly established division created by President Donald Trump and headed by Musk himself.

Elon Musk's 'parasite class' post and the backlash that followed

It didn’t take long for Elon Musk’s post to go viral across X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. Media outlets like The Daily Beast and The Atlantic Black Star quickly picked up the story.

Even the popular podcast 'On With Kara Swisher' weighed in, with host Kara Swisher calling Musk a parasite himself and pointing out that Tesla had already received nearly $5 billion in government support by 2015.

Snopes verified that the post was real.

According to the fact-checker, Musk did repost the meme on February 12 at 10.35 pm ET, complete with a laughing emoji. The meme itself was originally created by the @Liberty_Memes account, but Musk’s version removed its watermark and slapped on the DOGE logo instead.

Critics on social media were angry and responded to the post.

"A money-hungry, elitist billionaire just single-handedly created a new class for hardworking Americans. The 'Parasite Class.' This ideology is demonic," one posted on X.

"He’s calling people who receive any kind of federal assistance “parasites” while profiting heavily from every single government benefit he can get. The only parasite I see is Elon Musk. I’m so tired and disgusted," another fumed.

"Parasite class. Veterans, military officers, air traffic controllers, food safety inspectors, medical researchers, park rangers, nuclear safety experts, humanitarian aid workers... You're all the 'parasite class' according to our unelected foreign billionaire overlord," someone else chimed in.

"Imagine calling those on federal assistance the 'parasite class' and believing you’d just likened them to insignificant and powerless, yet you’d actually called us a deadly apex predator that can kill you silently with the bite of an insect, all 100 million outnumbering you," read a comment.

"Just a reminder that you are much closer to the 'Parasite Class' than you will ever be to whatever Elon Musk is. This man does not and has not cared about anyone but himself," another complained.

Elon Musk’s crackdown on federal workers

Elon Musk recently launched a sweeping crackdown on the federal workforce, sending mass emails demanding that employees justify their jobs—or risk being fired.

The emails, which started hitting inboxes on Saturday afternoon, February 22, instructed federal workers to explain what they accomplished in the past week.

Several national security agencies including the FBI and multiple federal departments advised staffers not to respond immediately, suggesting that the executive branch itself was blindsided by Musk’s move.

The email was sent from a newly created Office of Personnel Management HR address but lacked any official signature. The subject line simply read: "What did you do last week?"

The body of the message was just as ominous: "Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager. Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments."

According to CNN, the emails were flagged as "high importance" and many even had red exclamation marks.

The crackdown appears to be directly linked to Musk’s announcement on X: "Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."

The timing is no coincidence, coming just hours after Trump reportedly urged Musk to be "more aggressive".

However, there’s an important distinction: While Musk’s X post suggested noncompliance would mean immediate termination, the actual email did not explicitly state that failure to respond would be considered a resignation.

Instead, the deadline for responses was set for Monday at 11.59 pm ET, per CNN.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.