Tesla founder Elon Musk hosted the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live" and some of his most devoted Bay Area fans held a watch party to enjoy the show.
As soon as Musk walked onto the "Saturday Night Live" stage, the East Bay Tesla Owners Club in Benicia was dialed in.
To say they're devoted fans of Musk is an understatement.
"I am so excited to watch this. I'm just ready to geek out and nerd out and have fun with Tesla and Elon Musk,” said Chad Mortensen of The Tesla Owners East Bay Club.
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"Well, we all kind of know Elon, he can have his own jokes of himself, of his own. We'll see how it goes tonight, yeah,” said Wilmer Awayan, another member of the Tesla Owners Easy Bay Club.
Musk's opening monologue was self-deprecating and somewhat revealing.
"I'm actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s to host 'SNL.' Or at least the first to admit it,” Musk said during his "SNL" appearance.
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But Musk’s appearance as host of "Saturday Night Live" is not without controversy.
He's drawn criticism for his reaction to safety efforts by Alameda County health officials at the Tesla plant in Fremont at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Musk has also drawn concern over skeptical tweets about the COVID-19 vaccines. He commented that he has since reversed and now stated that he fully supports them.
San Francisco State University media professor Yumi Wilson describes Musk as a “lightning rod” and believes "Saturday Night Live" will be capitalizing on it.
“He is an international figure, love him or hate him,” she said. “I do think there is a lot of appeal for someone who is so controversial."
Saturday’s broadcast of "SNL" was the first to be live streamed around the world.
For the group of Tesla owners in the East Bay, they hope their billionaire hero made a good impression.
