Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, was nominated by US President Donald Trump as Secretary of Government Efficiency. Just over two weeks later, a photo emerged on social media showing Musk sleeping on the floor. The image was accompanied by claims that it depicted the billionaire asleep in his office. However, after thorough verification, we found this claim is false.
SOCIAL MEDIA CLAIM
Over the weekend, a social media claim suggested that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, was sleeping on the floor in the office of the Department of State Efficiency in Washington.
The claim was accompanied by a photo depicting the billionaire lying on an American flag blanket on the floor of a building.
This claim has circulated widely on social media, eliciting a range of reactions and comments from users.
Below is a screenshot of the claim circulating on Meta’s newly launched social media platform, Threads, on February 3, 2025. The post states: “Update: American hero Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, is sleeping on the floor of a building in DC to ensure the government isn’t wasting your money.”
The claim was also shared in the Khmer language, attracting a significant number of shares and reactions from social media users.
Below is a screenshot of the Khmer claim posted on Facebook on February 9, 2025, stating: “According to multiple reports, the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, was sleeping on the floor at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) office in Washington, D.C., as part of his volunteer efforts to ensure American tax money is spent properly by the government.”
The same claim has also been shared across various social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok.
An English-language claim posted on the social network X (formerly Twitter) three days ago stated that: “The richest man on the planet is choosing to sleep on a building’s floor in D.C. – all to keep an eye out and ensure the government isn’t shortchanging you! Thank you, Elon Musk, for Saving Humanity!”
Below is a video of the same claim that was posted on TikTok on February 9, 2025.
Given its trendiness on social media, you can discover similar claims via the links provided here: Link 1 (archived), Link 2 (archived), និង Link 3 (archived)។
FACT CHECK
Fact Crescendo has verified the aforementioned claims using Google Reverse Image Search and AI-powered content review software, leading to the following findings.
First, Fact Crescendo examined the image posted on social media and identified the word “Grok” in the lower right corner. This indicates that the photo originated from Grok, an AI content creation program developed by xAI.
Below are some images previously created by the Grok Chatbot app and posted on its X social media account.
The analysis conducted by an AI detection tool revealed that the image was generated by artificial intelligence technology rather than an actual photograph.
Below are the results of the analysis conducted by the AI content verification tool on the Hive Moderation website, a leading platform in AI content analysis.
Additionally, the claim accompanying the image was verified by the Asia Fact Check Lab of Free Asia Media, a Chinese-language outlet, which determined that the image was not authentic. You can read the full article here or via the archived link here.
The WIRED (archived) reported last month that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, told friends he would be sleeping at the Department of State’s Office of Efficiency in Washington, D.C.
However, to date, no authentic photos of Elon Musk sleeping in his DOGE office have been made public.
CONCLUSION
Fact Crescendo found out that the claim is false. The image depicting Elon Musk sleeping on the floor is not a genuine photograph; it was created by artificial intelligence.
Title:AI-Generated Image Claimed Elon Musk Sleeping at DOGE’s Floor
Fact Check By: Jay UdomResult: False
