Elon Musk Criticised For Sharing 'Concerning' And 'Reckless' Misinformation About Adolescence
Elon Musk is facing criticism after perpetuating false information about the Netflix series Adolescence.
The Tesla founder recently reacted to a post on the social media site X (which he owns), falsely claiming that Adolescence was “about a British knife killer who stabbed a girl to death on a bus”, and was inspired by “real-life cases such as the Southport murderer”.
In fact, Adolescence was already in production when the mass stabbing took place in Southport last year, in which three children were killed and 10 more were injured at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
The original post, shared on X last week, claimed that the Adolescence team had “race-swapped the actual killer” in order to make him a “white boy” who was “radicalised online by the red pill movement”, branding the show “anti-white propaganda”.
Despite the post’s alarmist tone and false claims, it was still endorsed by the site’s owner, who responded simply: “Wow.”
Musk was quickly met with criticism about his reply, which remains active on his account at the time of writing.
One user lamented: “Elon Musk’s reckless amplification of misinformation, like the false claim that Adolescence is based on the Southport attack, fuels division and distorts reality.”
Meanwhile, others pointed out that even the basic facts of the original post – including that the murder in Adolescence takes place on a bus – is also incorrect.
The amount of viral nonsense that is posted as news on this app, often amplified by Elon Musk, is mind-boggling.
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) March 22, 2025
Adolescence is not based on the Southport attack or a single case. It was already in production and being filmed before Southport happened. pic.twitter.com/rh049RsFwH
Elon Musk's reckless amplification of misinformation, like the false claim that "Adolescence" is based on the Southport attack, fuels division and distorts reality. The show was in production before the incident, tackling broader issues of knife crime and incel culture, not a…
— Richard Angwin (@RichardAngwin) March 23, 2025
Concerning
— alexander (@Sensanetional) March 22, 2025
Absolute nonsense.
— Joy Of Zen Motoring (@JoyOfPedals) March 23, 2025
1) there is no bus in the show.
2) it was shot before Southport.
3) Stephen Graham is multiracial.
Check your facts before spreading false information.
You have a huge platform, so have a huge responsibility to get it right.
None of this is true. There's no bus, it's not based on the Southport case in fact, it's not based on anyone individual case at all, but based on the wide ranging effects of Knife Crime in the UK as a whole. These claims have been debunked MANY times already.
— George Garden (@reverendgv1) March 20, 2025
Except
— dave lawrence ???????????? (@dave43law) March 20, 2025
- it is not based on any particular story
- it is not focused on knife crime
- was written and filming happening before Southport happened
- focuses on incel culture. misogyny and dangers of the internet
- white teens killed Brianna Ghey in UK
- 3 white teens killed 2…
This is absolutely false! Adolescence is not based on a single real-life case. But guess who’s in the comments? Elon Musk! https://t.co/fJEQABmIzM
— Lynette Engelbrecht (@Lynette_SA) March 20, 2025
This isn't proof of anything. The show isn't about any specific case but based on a mixture of different cases they've heard about and looked into. For example Stephen Graham said he was heavily influence by the murder of Ava White.
— Lloyd (@Lloydy232323) March 20, 2025
The alt-right and Elon Musk are now claiming that the show Adolescence was based on a black teenager that killed a girl when they LITERALLY started filming before Southport happened.
— ZachZipZap (@zachzipzaps) March 20, 2025
Musk, Given that you have quite a lot of influence, do you think the responsible thing to do would be to check the accuracy of other people's statements before drawing attention to them?
— John Noble (@john_a_noble) March 23, 2025
At this point just sharing a screenshot of Elon responding "wow," "interesting," or "concerning" immediately debunks the veracity of the OP.
— Mark Raymond (@markraymond) March 23, 2025
The irony of this tweet is the programme was about the effects social media has on people. And you’ve both just highlighted that. Perfectly. #Adolescence
— Charlie Thompson (@ExBBCcharlie) March 22, 2025
HuffPost UK has contacted reps for Elon Musk and Netflix for comment.
Stephen Graham – who co-wrote Adolescence, as well as appearing in three of its four episodes – has previously opened up about his inspiration from the show, insisting it was not based on any one teen murder.
“I read an article in the paper about a young boy who stabbed a young girl to death,” he recalled to Jimmy Fallon. “And then a couple of months later on the news, there was a piece about [another] young boy who stabbed a young girl to death.
“And these were at opposite ends of the country. And if I’m really honest with you, it hurt my heart. And I just think, ’what kind of a society are we living in at the minute where young boys are stabbing young girls?’.”