Fact check: Did Mick Jagger reject Elon Musk's $500M Tesla endorsement deal?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been in the news for months, partly due to his relationship with President Donald Trump. The two clashed back in June over Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" trading jabs at each other.
Now Musk is making headlines again after an online rumor claimed Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger rejected a $500 million endorsement deal from Tesla. But is there any truth to it? Let’s break it down.
Claim: Mick Jagger rejected a $500 million endorsement deal from Tesla
In August 2025, a rumor spread online claiming Mick Jagger had turned down a $500 million endorsement offer from Elon Musk’s Tesla, allegedly declaring, “Rock ’n’ roll is not for sale.”
The claim quickly gained traction on Facebook and Instagram. One Facebook post read, "Mick Jagger Drops Bombshell by Rejecting Elon Musk's $500 Million Tesla Endorsement Deal — 'I Will NEVER Be Bought by Billionaires Like You; Rock 'n' Roll Is Not for Sale — I Stand With the People Against Greed, Racism, and Corporate Exploitation.'"
Another post added: “A $500 MILLION check from Elon Musk… REJECTED. Mick Jagger just made the boldest move in rock history. The Stones’ frontman turned down Tesla’s half-billion-dollar offer and gave Musk just five short words in response.”
Similarly, an Instagram post claimed Jagger stood firm against corporate greed, reportedly saying, “Rock ’n’ roll is not for sale,” while expressing solidarity with people opposing greed, racism, and exploitation.
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Fact check: No credible evidence to back the claim
The claims are false. There is no evidence that Mick Jagger ever rejected an endorsement deal from Tesla, according to Snopes.
Searches across Google, Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo revealed no credible news outlets reporting on the supposed deal.
Some posts linked to a WordPress blog that expanded on the story, suggesting the Tesla offer included everything from global ad campaigns to exclusive Rolling Stones-themed Tesla cars.
The article also alleged that Jagger made his statement during a private event, pausing on stage before declaring: “Rock ’n’ roll is not for sale. I will NEVER be bought by billionaires like you. I stand with the people.”
The blog’s dramatic account ended with, “The room went silent. Then it exploded into applause.”
However, there’s no verifiable proof that any such event ever happened. A portion of the blog was run through GPTZero, an AI detection tool, which estimated that 96 percent of the text was AI-generated.
Similar rumor about Musk surfaced earlier
This isn’t the first time a celebrity rejection rumor involving Elon Musk has gone viral.
In March 2025, a post claimed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes turned down a $10 million offer from Musk. The viral article suggested Musk had offered the money in connection with Mahomes’ impact on football and youth development programs.
The viral Facebook article suggested Musk had offered the money in connection with Mahomes’ impact on football and youth development programs
That rumor was also debunked, as no credible evidence supported the claim that Musk ever made such an offer.
