The Saturday Night Live cast brutally slammed Elon Musk during the show’s cold open, leaving the live audience – and viewers at home – groaning in discomfort. 

The Tesla CEO, played by Mike Myers, was seen cutting off President Donald Trump  – impersonated by James Austin Johnson – wearing a cheese hat like the Tesla CEO did on March 31 for a rally in Wisconsin. 

‘Say cheese! Hahahaha, kidding, kidding,’ Myers said as he tossed the hat to the side. 

‘That was from when I tried to buy the election in Wisconsin, uhhhh, I’m an idiot, I should’ve just bought Wisconsin,’ he added before suffering from a ‘glitch’ – a reoccurring mockery SNL makes of Musk. 

Johnson then poked fun at Musk stepping down as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and said: ‘Elon it was great, but sadly, it’s time to never see you again, OK? You gotta get back to Tesla, right? Because they’re doing pretty bad.’ 

‘Yes, recently our dealerships have been the target of many attacks and suddenly, no one likes Tesla cars. So, I ask myself why and then I answered myself, ’cause of me,’ Myers said as he broke into an awkward dance and chuckled. 

The show made another pointed dig at the billionaire, as Myers announced the new Tesla ‘Model V,’ an electric car that is ‘self-vandalizing’ and comes with features like smashed headlights, slashed tires and ‘AI-powered graffiti’ that can either be in the shape of a penis or Swastika. 

The show’s takedown of Musk left many viewers uncomfortable and angry, as one called the skit ‘really poor,’ adding: ‘Making fun of high functioning Asperger’s is so typical of the mentally ill left,’ referring to the tech CEO’s diagnosis he went public with four years ago on SNL. 

SNL viewers were left uncomfortable after the she show’s cold open skit took multiple digs at Elon Musk, and mocking his developmental disorder 

Musk (pictured in February) first told the world he had Asperger’s syndrome – an autism-spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication – in 2021

Autism Capital, a citizen journalism group on X that Musk frequently interacts with, also shared its thoughts on the performance. 

‘This is such exceedingly bad taste. Wow. Not ever funny, just mean. Born from hate, not from humor,’ the page wrote. 

Musk himself even commented on the act, sharing to his platform X: ‘SNL hasn’t been funny in a long time. They are their own parody.’

‘Not funny. Same as always,’ another wrote, as someone else agreed, adding: ‘Uhhhh that opening was not funny. Less politics, more comedy.’

‘Funny… until Mike Myers shows up,’ wrote another user. 

‘Trumps part was good but they really need to rethink the Elon part. Cringe and not funny at all,’ a commenter said.  

While many viewers were left with a bad taste in their mouths from the skit, others found it comedic and entertaining. 

‘Perfection,’ someone said, as another called it ‘brilliant.’ 

The show made another pointed dig at the billionaire, as Myers announced the new Tesla ‘Model V,’ an electric car that is ‘self-vandalizing’ and comes with features like slashed tires (left) and ‘AI-powered graffiti’ that can either be in the shape of a penis or Swastika (right)

‘Funny as hell,’ wrote another person, while someone else said Myers ‘nailed’ his role as Musk. 

‘F***ing hilarious Mike hit his mark again,’ stated another. 

Musk first told the world he had Asperger’s syndrome – an autism-spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication – in 2021. 

‘I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL. Or at least the first to admit it. So I won’t make a lot of eye contact with the cast tonight,’ Musk said in his SNL monologue. 

He went on to share his vision that humanity ‘must become a multiplanetary spacefaring civilization’ before going on to joke about his eccentric nature and frequently bizarre social media posts. 

‘Look I know I sometimes say or post strange things, but that’s just how my brain works,’ the SpaceX CEO said. 

‘To anyone I’ve offended, I just want to say: I reinvented electric cars and I’m sending humans to Mars on a rocket ship. Did you also think I was going to be a chill, normal dude?’ he joked.

On Wednesday, Trump informed his Cabinet and inner circle that Musk will be stepping back from his high-profile government role in the coming weeks.

Musk himself even commented on the act, sharing to his platform X: ‘SNL hasn’t been funny in a long time. They are their own parody’ 

The Tesla and SpaceX boss will soon be returning to the business world, Politico reported.

Revelations about the shock move rattled the stock market and stunned Washington.

Musk’s designation as a special government employee meant he was scheduled to step down in May, but he is now leaving early in a cloud of controversy.

It represents an apparent sea change in Trump’s relationship with Musk from last month when White House sources were suggesting that the Tesla boss was ‘here to stay.’

Just days before, Musk appeared at a rally in Wisconsin, where he spent over $20 million to help Republican Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel win the election against Democrat Susan Crawford.

Crawford, on the other hand, received major funding from billionaires George Soros and J.B. Pritzker. 

A little more than an hour after the polls closed in the state, Crawford won the election. 

In recent weeks, the CEO’s electric car brand has been at the center of alleged attacks. 

On Wednesday, Trump informed his Cabinet and inner circle that Musk will be stepping back from his high-profile government role in the coming weeks. (Pictured: Musk and Trump on March 22) 

Just days ago, a woman was caught on camera allegedly vandalizing a Tesla in front of two children. 

Footage captured her appearing to scratch the electric vehicle in a parking lot, before marching between the cars with her son and daughter in tow.

The young boy then flipped off the camera as he walked past, followed by the little girl and the woman as they quickly vacated the scene. 

People who shared the footage on X said it was filmed in Arden Hills, a small city in Ramsey County around 10 miles north-east of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees policing in the area, told DailyMail.com on Thursday that they were investigating the footage.

The growing trend has also been felt across the globe, as a Tesla showroom was set ablaze in Italy last week (pictured) 

The growing trend has also been felt across the globe, as a Tesla showroom was set ablaze in Italy last week. 

The incident, which police are investigating as arson, left 17 electric cars destroyed, a security source said.

Drone images showed the burnt-out remains of cars lined up in a parking lot, with two rows of vehicles back-to-back and a third row some distance away.

The fire brigade said in a statement that the blaze broke out at around 4.30am. The dealership was partially damaged, but nobody was injured.

Officials added that they were exploring ‘all avenues’ in their investigation into the cause of the fire.