Billionaire CEO of prominent companies such as Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk has been considered one of the world’s smartest entrepreneurs for decades. But a recent evaluation of the aging South African-American’s mental state provides a more accurate description of Musk’s intellectual capacity. 

 

Musk, age 53, underwent a series of physical and psychological examinations last Monday to ensure he was functioning regularly, one of which was an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test. Musk’s neurologists were surprised that he had never received one, but expected the score to be well above average. 

 

“We were shocked by the results,” said neurologist Dr. Burger. “Musk met our expectations in every other category until we discovered that his IQ score falls below 80. He is functioning at a capacity far below the average American,” according to Burger. 

 

Further investigation into Musk’s behavior shows that this development may not be as incredible as it seems. Musk’s association with tech companies make him appear to be highly intelligent, but in reality, the CEO has little involvement in the technological legwork. 

 

Additionally, the assistance of hired advisors and employees have aided Musk with things like decision making and critical thinking (tasks that are usually difficult for a person within his intelligence quotient) allowing Musk to achieve the level of success that he has. 

 

“Elon Musk is proof that anyone born into a wealthy family can become a wealthy shareholder. His story is actually incredibly inspiring,” quips Dr. Burger. 

 

Initially, Musk’s family and close connections asked doctors not to share the results of his examination, but professionals decided it would be unethical to do so. According to Burger, it is potentially dangerous for an individual functioning at Musk’s capacity to have a large social presence unless his audience is aware of his intellectual inadequacies. 

 

Musk has repeatedly shared content on social media that contains blatant misinformation, likely a result of the fact that low-IQ individuals are at a higher risk for subscribing to false information or manipulation. This means that Musk’s promotion of misinformation can be harmful when his over 200 million followers consider him a trustworthy source. “The best thing would be for his social media to be managed by a family member or PR agent to protect Musk from embarrassment and controversy, and to protect his followers from false information,” advises Burger. 

 

Musk has not released a statement on the matter and his thoughts about the examination results are currently unknown.