In a move that shocked no one who has followed his Twitter (or X, as he’s rebranded it) antics, Elon Musk has officially pulled his exclusive show from ABC, citing the network’s handling of the recent debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Musk, never one to mince words—or characters in his tweets—called ABC “a disgrace to the media industry” in a fiery social media post that quickly went viral.
The decision has left media insiders, Musk fans, and political junkies alike wondering: What exactly set Musk off this time, and will this be the last time he feuds with mainstream media? (Spoiler alert: It won’t.)
To understand Musk’s latest clash with ABC, one must first look at the event that lit the fuse: the Trump vs. Kamala Harris presidential debate. Billed as the showdown of the century, the debate promised fireworks, drama, and perhaps the occasional coherent policy statement.
What viewers got, however, was a spectacle in which Trump’s exaggerated claims were met with a barrage of fact-checking, courtesy of ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Throughout the debate, Muir and Davis repeatedly interrupted Trump to correct his statements, particularly his claims about immigrants “eating pets” in Ohio and Democrats “advocating for baby executions.” The moderators took a firm stance on keeping the debate rooted in reality, much to the frustration of Trump supporters who felt the former president was being unfairly targeted.
Enter Elon Musk, who watched the debate and, true to form, decided he had something to say about it. Moments after the fact-checking bonanza, Musk tweeted: “ABC is a joke. Fact-checking mid-debate? What happened to free speech? They’re a disgrace to the media industry.”
And just like that, the stage was set for what would become a full-blown media feud.
Following his tirade on X, Musk took things a step further. In a stunning move that surprised even his most loyal fans, he announced he would be pulling his exclusive show, Mars: The Final Frontier, from ABC. The show, which was set to chronicle Musk’s ambitious plans to colonize Mars (complete with SpaceX rocket launches and real-time updates on Tesla stocks, no doubt), was supposed to be the crown jewel of ABC’s upcoming programming slate.
But, as with all things Musk, plans can change on a dime—and they did.
“ABC doesn’t deserve my show,” Musk tweeted. “If they can’t handle a debate without turning it into a fact-checking circus, then they’re not the right platform for my vision of the future. Goodbye, ABC. You’ve failed the test of free speech.”
This marked the official death knell for Mars: The Final Frontier, a show that was supposed to be part space documentary, part reality TV, and part Musk monologue. Insiders say the production team, who had spent months preparing for the show’s debut, were left scrambling to figure out what went wrong—besides, of course, the network’s apparent failure to embrace the art of not fact-checking presidential candidates.
ABC, for its part, responded with a level of diplomacy that can only be described as “corporate carefulness.” In a brief statement, the network expressed disappointment in Musk’s decision but wished him well in his future endeavors.
“We are saddened by Mr. Musk’s choice to withdraw his show from ABC,” the statement read. “We remain committed to providing a platform for diverse voices and perspectives, while upholding journalistic standards that ensure factual accuracy.”
Translation? “Elon Musk is a billionaire who does what he wants, and we’re not about to get into a Twitter spat with the man who owns rockets and social media platforms.”
Of course, ABC’s calm response didn’t stop the internet from speculating about the real reason behind Musk’s decision. Some suggested it was nothing more than a typical Musk tantrum, while others pointed out that Musk, who has often portrayed himself as a champion of free speech, was likely reacting to the network’s handling of the debate as a challenge to his own ethos.
As with all things Musk, the internet exploded with opinions, memes, and hot takes following his announcement. Supporters of Musk praised him for standing up to what they saw as a biased media, while critics accused him of throwing a billionaire’s tantrum over basic fact-checking.
One particularly viral meme featured Musk in a spacesuit, standing on Mars, holding a sign that read, “Free Speech Martians Only—ABC Not Welcome.”
“Musk pulling his show because of fact-checking? That’s peak 2024 billionaire behavior,” tweeted one user. “Next, he’ll refuse to land on Mars unless NASA promises not to question his stock predictions.”
Others were quick to point out that Musk, despite his claims of supporting free speech, has a track record of not handling criticism particularly well. “The guy who bought Twitter to ‘protect free speech’ is mad because a news network… used facts during a debate? Make it make sense,” posted another.
With ABC now out of the picture, the future of Mars: The Final Frontier is uncertain. Fans of Musk’s vision for space exploration are eager to see the show land on another platform—rumors are swirling that Musk may take the show to Netflix, Amazon Prime, or even create his own streaming service (because, let’s face it, that’s not out of the realm of possibility for him).
One insider close to the production team joked that Musk might just broadcast the show on a satellite orbiting Earth. “Knowing Elon, he’ll probably beam it straight to Mars and let Martians watch it first.”
