FACT CHECK: Did Elon Musk Make This Statement About Student Loans?

An image shared on Facebook claims Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a statement about how 18-year-olds can take out a $100,000 student loan but not a $10,000 business loan.

Verdict: False

The tweet is digitally fabricated. There is no record of Musk making the statement.

Fact Check:

Musk has been the focus of considerable media attention since his successful $44 billion bid to purchase Twitter, according to CNBC. One image shared on Facebook claims the billionaire entrepreneur recently weighed in on the topic of student loans.

The image shows what appears to be a tweet from Musk’s verified Twitter account that reads, “The fact that an 18 year old can’t take out a $10,000 business loan. But can take out a $100,000 student loan tells you everything you need to know.”

The statement is digitally fabricated. None of Musk’s real tweets contain the statement nor do any archived versions of his account show the tweet. There is likewise no trace of the tweet on the website PolitiTweet, which archives the deleted tweets of prominent figures such as Musk. (RELATED: Did A Twitter Employee Tweet His Resignation After Elon Musk Joined The Board Of Directors?)

Check Your Fact found no credible news reports suggesting Musk made the statement or weighed in on the topic of student loans. The Tesla CEO did remark in December 2019 that he was $100,000 in debt after college and “couldn’t even afford a second PC” to do work, according to CNBC.

Check Your Fact previously debunked a fake tweet attributed to him that appeared to show him calling former President Donald Trump a “dumbass.”

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