What is Asperger’s syndrome? Elon Musk reveals on Saturday Night Live he suffers from this disorder

Elon Musk in the studio ahead of his Saturday Night Live episode (Image: Twitter/@nbcsnl)

Hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live on May 8, billionaire Elon Musk revealed that he has Asperger’s syndrome.

What is Asperger’s syndrome?

Asperger’s syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder. It is linked to having difficulty with social interactions despite having strong verbal and cognitive skills.

During his opening monologue, Musk referred to himself as “the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL”.

“Or at least the first person to admit it,” he said.

This was the reportedly the first time the SpaceX founder appeared to link himself to the syndrome. Besides being an early-stage investor and the CEO of electric car company Tesla, Musk is also the founder of The Boring Company, and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI.

However, according to Daily Beast, Musk is actually not the first SNL show host with Asperger’s syndrome. Former cast member Dan Aykroyd hosted the show in 2003, and he has openly discussed his Asperger’s.

During his appearance on the popular television show, Musk – one of the world’s richest individuals – also joked about his Twitter account and the tweets that led some critics to object to him being invited to host the show.

“Look, I know I sometimes say or post strange things, but that’s just how my brain works," he said.

“To anyone who’s been offended, I just want to say I reinvented electric cars, and I’m sending people to Mars in a rocket ship,” Musk said. “Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?”

Before the show, the casting choice had been criticised from those who felt that SNL was celebrating a person for his exorbitant wealth at a time of great inequality and someone who had spread misinformation to his massive social media following as he downplayed the severity of the coronavirus crisis.

(With inputs from The Associated Press)