Fact Check: Did Elon Musk threaten to withdraw support from boxing organization over Imane Khelif?
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Over the past few weeks, several claims about Elon Musk making controversial remarks have been circulating on social media. At times, these are true, but many have also been debunked.
Recently, posts claiming that the tech billionaire threatened to withdraw support from the World Boxing Organization (WBO) if it did not revoke a championship title and the $25 million prize money it awarded to Algerian boxer Imane Khelif have gone viral.
But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: Elon Musk threatened to withdraw support from boxing organization over Imane Khelif
In February, an old claim about Elon Musk threatening "to withdraw all support" from the WBO re-emerged on Facebook.
These posts stressed that the Tesla CEO has demanded that the organization revoke a championship title and prize money it awarded to Khelif.
A person named Sharif Caesar made the post on Facebook and wrote, "BREAKING: Elon Musk decides to withdraw all support for WBO programs unless Imane Khelif’s medal and $25 million bonus are revoked."
The claim was further spread by several other Facebook users.
Notably, Khelif was targeted for her gender during the 2024 Summer Olympics after her controversial bout against Italy's Angela Carini.
Interestingly, the claim, which has been around since last November, saw fresh light in early 2025 when Musk was chosen to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Fact Check: Information mentioned in the viral post is misleading
The claims made in the viral posts are completely false as Imane Khelif never won a WBO title, as reported by fact-checking website Snopes.
She has won and has had revoked championship title events sanctioned by the International Boxing Association (IBA), per the outlet.
Moreover, the gold medal she won at the 2024 Olympics was governed by the International Olympic Committee. Neither the WBO nor the IOC award prize money, according to Snopes.
Furthermore, the fact-checking outlet could not identify any evidence that proves Musk or the US government provided any "support" for the WBO that could be withdrawn.
The WBO, a private organization based in Puerto Rico, is one of the governing bodies that sanction professional boxing matches.
Moreover, Musk has no live social media post mentioning the WBO at the time of filing this story.
WBO previously pushed back against claims that it had banned Imane Khelif
The WBO pushed back against similar claims in October 2024 that the organization had disqualified Imane Khelif from competing in its events, per Snopes.
The organization wrote in a press release, "The World Boxing Organization (WBO) informed that it had not tested, nor had it banned female boxer Imane Khelif, who won a gold medal during the boxing tournament of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France."
"'The report claiming that the WBO had banned Khelif are obviously false. We have had no communication with Khelif. We congratulate her and wish her luck in all her future endeavors', said WBO legal counsel Gustavo Olivieri, Esq today. Any report stating otherwise is obviously fake and ill-intentioned," it added.
