Comedian Bill Burr describes Elon Musk as ‘evidently a Nazi’ as 'Tesla takedown' protests continue

Celebrated American comedian, podcaster and writer Bill Burr has criticised Elon Musk, labelling him as an “idiot” and a “Nazi” during a recent interview on NPR’s Fresh Air.  

The comedian was promoting his new stand up special, Drop Dead Years, and spoke about the current climate in the US, referencing the now infamous gesture Musk made several times during Donald Trump’s inauguration. 

“I’m trying to get regular people to stop yelling at each other and realize that it’s a select few group of nerds eating raw almonds and doing their stupid workouts and competing with each other to have the biggest infinity pool and the rest of us are getting pushed down,” he said. “They’ve politicized the whole stupid thing and we’re falling for it”. 

Clarifying who he meant by “nerds”, the 56-year-old comedian replied: “That idiot Elon Musk!”

He went on to describe the billionaire as “evidently a Nazi”: “I just refuse to believe it was an accidental two-time Sieg Heil. And he does it at a presidential inauguration!” 

However, Burr also went on to criticise those bashing Musk.  

“This is why I hate liberals,” he said. “Liberals have no teeth whatsoever. They just go, ‘Oh my God, can you believe this? I’m getting out of the country!’ I’m just like, you’re gonna leave the country because of one guy with dyed hair plugs and a laminated face? Who makes a bad car and has an obsolete social media platform? Why doesn’t he leave? Why are we so afraid of this guy who can’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag?” 

Ever since Trump stepped back into the White House, several celebrities – presumably the ones that Burr was referencing – have left the US. They include Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who both left after the result of the 2024 election to go live in England; actresses Lena Dunham and America Ferrera, who currently live in the UK; actress and longtime Californian Minnie Driver, who stated that she couldn’t see herself going back to the US following Trump’s election; comedian and TV host Rosie O’Donnell, who recently revealed she has moved to Ireland in the wake of Trump's re-election.

“Although I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that’s what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child” said O'Donnell.

Ahead of the election last year, Sharon Stone shared her plans to move to Italy should Trump be elected. While she hasn’t updated fans on her plans since Trump was sworn into office, she shared with Daily Mail: “I am certainly considering a house in Italy. I think that’s an intelligent construct at this time. This is one of the first times in my life that I’ve actually seen anyone running for office on a platform of hate and oppression.” 

These comments from Burr come at a time when Musk's popularity is sliding like the market value of Tesla. "Tesla takedown" protests have seen demonstrators gather outside dealerships in Portland and New York City, amongst other cities.

Trump recently stated that people protesting against Tesla should be labelled domestic terrorists, as the White House organised a media event designed to bolster Musk's electric car company.

Trump sat in the driver's seat of a brand new Tesla that he said he planned to buy, with Musk in the passenger seat. The president stated that those demonstrating against Musk or targeting Tesla showrooms were "harming a great American company", and anyone using violence against the electric carmaker would "go through hell". 

The showcase for Tesla's cars outside the White House came after Tesla's market value halved since its all-time peak in December, sliding 15% in a single day on Monday.

The backlash against Tesla and Musk, Trump’s top donor in the election campaign, was sparked as a consequence of the tech billionaire having been tasked with radically cutting government spending through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has instigated sweeping cuts to federal workforce and cancelled international aid programmes.  

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump blamed Tesla's share price falls on "radical left lunatics", who he said were trying to "illegally and collusively boycott" the firm. 

Asked in front of the White House whether protesters should be labelled "domestic terrorists", the president said: "I will do that.” 

His position was later confirmed by a White House spokesperson.

Not that the protests are just contained to the US...

Last month, in London, a UK-based group called Everyone Hates Elon took credit for a poster going viral online.

The poster depicts a Tesla renamed as the “Swasticar”, with an image of the tech billionaire doing the Nazi salute. It urges people not to buy the Tesla cars and reads: “Goes from 0 to 1939 in 3 seconds”.