What is Elon Musk Buys And Deletes?

It is a mock news headline meme where a fake article claims Musk has bought something and eliminated it, first posted in October 2018[1].

Where did Elon Musk Buys And Deletes come from?

Redditor The-shadowxz posted the original Fortnite version to r/funny on October 19th, 2018, styled as a parody MarketWatch article[1].

What does Elon Musk Buys And Deletes mean?

The format uses Musk's billionaire buyer persona to fantasize about erasing something the poster dislikes, paired with an absurd fake quote from Musk justifying it[3].

How do you use Elon Musk Buys And Deletes?

Posters swap the target in the headline ("Elon Musk buys X and deletes it") and often photoshop the accompanying image, as with the Roman Empire and Yandhi variants[4][5].

Is Elon Musk Buys And Deletes still popular?

The format peaked in late October 2018 after Musk himself tweeted the Fortnite version to 1.2 million likes, and is now treated as a classic Reddit format[2].

Elon Musk Buys And Deletes

2018image macroclassic

Published August 19, 2026

Elon Musk Buys And Deletes is an image macro format from October 2018 that mocks up fake news headlines claiming Musk has purchased something and eliminated it. The template took off after Musk himself tweeted the original Fortnite version, spawning countless variants swapping in different targets and outcomes.

elon musk memes hoax memes exploitable templates photoshop memes 2018 memes

Overview

Elon Musk Buys And Deletes, a fake news headline format where a mocked-up article claims the Tesla founder has bought some product, franchise, or concept and then wiped it from existence1. The image is styled to look like a legitimate MarketWatch story, complete with a photo of Musk and a fabricated pull quote justifying the deletion3.

The joke works because it plays on Musk's public image as an extravagant billionaire who buys things impulsively, paired with a wish-fulfillment punchline aimed at whatever the poster dislikes that week. Remixes swap out the target, sometimes with photoshopped visuals to match the new subject5.

Elon Musk Buys And Deletes

Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

References (5)