Fact Check: Elon Musk Did NOT Tweet Promo Code To Crypto Project Or Put It On NYC Billboard

Did Elon Musk put up a promo code to his crypto venture on X, and was that put up then used to make a Instances Sq. billboard promotion in New York Metropolis? No, that is not true: This can be a fabricated picture selling a crypto forex rip-off. There isn’t any proof that Musk made this put up or that the crypto promotion ever appeared on an actual billboard at this location. The short-lived web site named in a single promotion is not registered or useful. Further variations of this rip-off function the identical billboard picture with the identical truck passing on the road, however a distinct web site URL, thus clearly exhibiting that the photographs have been faked and aren’t a real picture taken by a passerby.

The promotion appeared in a reply (archived here) to a different put up on Threads on September 28, 2024. The reply was captioned:

I noticed this billboard on the road at the moment, thanks Elon Musk🤍🚀

That is how the put up appeared on the time of writing:

(Supply: Threads screenshot taken on Fri Oct 04 15:21:11 2024 UTC)

The picture reveals a digital billboard on the nook of seventh Avenue and forty first Avenue simply outdoors the formal limits of what’s often called the “Times Square Bowtie” in New York Metropolis. Within the foreground a piece truck with ladder racks is passing by. On the billboard, the message seems within the format of a put up on the platform X. The textual content reads:

Elon Musk
@elonmusk
Go to my crypto venture
SWEXES.COM
Enter my promo 31muskxx
Take 0.31 BTC

The fly-by-night web site talked about on this promotion, SWEXES.COM, is not useful. In response to the Whois record at Domaintools.com, the 8-day-old area was registered on September 26, 2024. The area standing is “Deleted and accessible once more” (pictured beneath).

(Supply: Domaintools.com screenshot taken on Fri Oct 04 15:46:16 2024 UTC)

A Google seek for the area returned an article (archived here) on the cybersecurity weblog malwaretips.com that opens:

Swexes.com is a fraudulent cryptocurrency buying and selling platform being promoted by an elaborate rip-off on social media platforms. Utilizing deepfake movies of celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo and Elon Musk, scammers trick followers into depositing Bitcoin on the faux web site by promising free crypto giveaways activated by particular promo codes. However Swexes solely exists to steal cash from victims lured by the misleading superstar endorsements and too-good-to-be-true bonuses.

The fabricated promotion is meant to look as if it’s a put up from Elon Musk on X, the platform he owns — however this isn’t what Musk’s posts appear to be at the moment. His profile picture (pictured beneath) is his personal face and subsequent to his identify is a blue verify and a black X. The fabricated picture has the X brand for a profile image and no blue checkmark. Musk has used the X brand for a profile image up to now (archive here), however even then the blue verify was displayed beside his identify.

(Supply: X screenshot taken on Fri Oct 04 15:50:20 2024 UTC)

An advanced search on X (archived here) for the promo code purportedly posted by Musk’s account returns no outcomes (pictured beneath)

(Supply: X screenshot taken on Fri Oct 04 16:05:14 2024 UTC)

In one other post on Threads (archived here) posted on October 1, 2024, the identical billboard picture seems with the identical truck with ladder racks passing by (pictured beneath), with the identical caption and identical advert copy however with a distinct web site, BEDXERS.COM. This reveals that the picture of an actual billboard in New York Metropolis has been altered to indicate a number of variations of a faux tweet — real-life promotions by no means existed.

(Supply: Threads screenshot taken on Fri Oct 04 16:17:32 2024 UTC)

Lead Tales has reached out for remark to the advert firm related with this digital billboard and can replace this reality verify if we obtain a reply.

On the time this was written, PolitiFact had reviewed the identical declare.

Further Lead Tales reality checks on false claims involving Elon Musk will be discovered here.