In August 2026, Elon Musk’s billion-dollar aerospace company SpaceX announced plans to build a 125,000-acre launch site in the coastal marshes of Louisiana near Pecan Island and Abbeville in Vermilion Parish.
To mark the occasion, Musk and several other SpaceX executives and politicians, along with Governor Jeff Landry, visited the construction site for the $100 billion project, set to become southern Louisiana’s largest spaceport complex.
Highlights
- Elon Musk’s photos from a recent visit to Louisiana’s new spaceport site sparked concerns about his appearance.
- A medical condition and lack of exercise were among the common speculations among netizens.
- The tech tycoon has previously admitted he doesn’t like working out and has undergone multiple spinal surgeries.
But as photos of the trip began circulating on social media, netizens zeroed in on a completely different detail: Musk’s “ugly body shape.”
“How can you be a freakin trillionaire and not have the best doctors in the world keeping your hormones in check?” one commented.
The internet started a debate over Elon Musk’s “Dad Bod” appearance
Netizens took particular issue with what they described as his noticeably slouched bearing and heavier-looking midsection, further accentuated by tight-fitting clothes, together giving him a more unkempt appearance than usual.
Some said Elon Musk was simply overweight or lacked good fashion sense. Others assumed it was a “bad posture issue” or the wrong angle, and a few more suspected a medical condition.
“Musk is working himself into a grave. The extreme stress and probably not enough sleep, along with bad eating habits that fit around his busy schedule,” said one concerned user.
Another said, “Just terrible posture combined with bad camera angles.” A third wrote, “He's just wearing clothes that are not properly sized for him. Skinny fits shouldn’t exist.”
“Looks like scoliosis. He looks like he has a number of curves that are not under control,” a fourth commented.
A fifth said, “Prevailing theory is he's taking estrogen blockers, with high-dose testosterone in order to manlymaxx. While also doing zero exercise.”
One person joked. “It’s not his body that I’m concerned about. It’s what’s between his ears.” Another mocked, “Built like a Robox character on low graphics settings.”
Elon Musk reportedly does not like exercising and prefers not to diet
Those who suspected Elon Musk might not be working might be on to something.
During a 2020 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, the Tesla CEO admitted, “To be totally frank, I wouldn’t exercise at all if I could. I prefer not to exercise.”
Even though he has a personal trainer, he said it had been “a while” since he did a full workout and instead just lifted some weights on his own.
He also said that he didn’t like running on the treadmill, and when he reluctantly did, he preferred to distract himself by watching a “compelling” TV show.
As for his diet, Musk said he’d “rather eat tasty food and live a shorter life” than watch his calories cautiously, which some podcast listeners found amusing at the time, given that his mother, Maye Musk, is a dietician.
However, the tech magnate said he was aware of the negative impacts of a sedentary lifestyle: “Being overweight is a big deal.”
Elon Musk has undergone five surgeries and said he’s battling depression
While it's unclear whether Elon Musk’s appearance is related to his physical ailments, the billionaire has opened up about his bone and muscle pains multiple times.
According to Walter Isaacson’s 2015 biography, Elon Musk, the billionaire’s chronic back and neck issues began in 2013 after he tried to “judo throw” a hundred-pound heavier opponent at a Japanese-themed party for his 42nd birthday.
“I ran full force at a 350-pound Sumo wrestler in order to overcome the 100-pound mass difference via velocity in the momentum exchange,” Musk wrote in a January 2026 tweet. “I knocked him over, but smashed my neck in the process.
The injury damaged his C5-C6 spinal disc and required two surgeries.
He went on to detail that he has had five neck and back surgeries in his life, and one of them was after his “spine got reamed.”
He also has Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum condition, and battles with mental health issues.
In a 2024 interview with Don Lemon, he said, “There are times when I have a sort of negative chemical state in my brain, like depression, I guess — depression that’s not linked to any negative news.”
He revealed that he took prescribed amounts of ket*m*ne, an FDA-approved anesthetic, to get himself “out of a negative frame of mind.”
The substance is known to cause heavy dependence and was responsible for Friends actor Matthew Perry’s tragic demise in 2023.
"That's the posture of someone rigging elections," one user said
