Guns trained on Elon Musk? Cryptic post against Tesla chief after UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder sparks frenzy on X

On December 19, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform saw a surge in activity when a user named Bill Shea shared a post tagging Musk’s comments on a federal spending bill, and made an oblique reference to a recent high-profile murder of a CEO.

A post calling for the 'assassination' of tech mogul Elon Musk has sparked chaos on X (formerly Twitter).

On December 19, the Elon Musk-owned social media platform saw a surge in activity when a user named Bill Shea shared a post tagging Musk’s comments on a federal spending bill.

According to a report by The Times of India, the post contained a screenshot from an account named “Republicans Against Trump”, which stated, “Elon Musk is literally everything MAGA Republicans accused George Soros of doing.”

Shea also warned that people should not forget that Musk is the CEO of several companies.

“Folks, please do not forget Musk is the CEO of several companies. I say again, he’s a CEO. Do with that information as you will,” he wrote, which appeared to be an oblique reference to the recent high-profile murder of UnitedHealthcare's CEO.

This caused an uproar on the social media platform, prompting many users to flag this post. Many believed this was an assassination call by Shea and he wanted to harm the tech mogul.

As the post went viral and more comments poured in against Shea and his remarks, he deleted his account.

This development comes on the heels of the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Thompson was killed  outside a Manhattan hotel before a company conference, allegedly by a man named Luigi Mangione.

Mangione has since been charged with one count of murder through use of a firearm, one count of using a firearm silencer during a violent crime, and two counts of interstate stalking for allegedly surveilling Thompson.

Despite the charges, this high-profile murder has highlighted stark inequality in American society, with many people supporting Mangione's actions, given difficulties in accessing healthcare due to high costs involved. Thompson was the CEO of America’s biggest health insurance firm.

Indeed, an Emerson College poll said 24 per cent of US voters aged 18-29 thought Mangione killing Thompson was somewhat acceptable, while 17 per cent said it was completely acceptable.