Critics Sound Off On Bronze Elon Musk Statue Unveiled In Manhattan: ‘This Is So Embarrassing’

On Monday, the same day that Tesla CEO Elon Musk turned 50, social investment app Public.com unveiled a life-sized bronze statue of the billionaire in Lower Manhattan that had some critics calling foul over the honor.

Public.com constructed the 6-foot statue of Musk with plans to auction it off and donate 100% of the proceeds to First Generation Investors – a nonprofit organization that teaches high school students in underserved communities about investing.

The statue was placed on eBay with a high bid of $2,050 as of early Tuesday morning, with nine days left in the auction.

But Twitter fans were unimpressed with the statue nor that ability to own it themselves as the majority of comments on the social media platform criticized its creation as a public toilet.

Others on Twitter were utterly embarrassed by the entire idea of the Musk statue, with one user warning Public.com, “This is so embarrassing. Tempted to close my account now.”

Another user agreed, wondering how anyone thought “this was a good idea?”

Others mocked the statue, comparing it to bacon or a random guy named Jim from Nebraska.

The Musk statue is currently on display at 14th Street and the High Line, according to Public.com.

Adding to the bidding event, Public.com also raffled off 100 miniature statues of the auto entrepreneur, who has a net worth of $188 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The statue, for its worth, shows Musk smiling, wearing a T-shirt, looking up with both his hands on his head, which also caught the attention of Twitter. Some commented that the statue looks more like “Regis Philbin” or “James Gandolfini” or even “Ron Hubbard.”

And some even suggested that the statue’s hands were covering up a bald spot on Musk’s head, even though the SpaceX CEO is not bald in real life.

Despite the criticism, Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, posted a rare photo of her son on his 50th birthday as a child on Twitter. Musk responded with a heart emoji.