John Oliver Compares Elon Musk To Lex Luthor, A Bond Villain, And A Racist Space Sheriff On ‘Last Week Tonight’

John Oliver is no fan of Elon Musk, as he made clear on Sunday’s (December 17) episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. Oliver spent most of the episode, his last one of the year, dedicated to a man he says “could pull off pretty much any bad guy in a movie.”

Oliver then listed the various villain archetypes that Musk could play: “There’s Lex Luthor posing for the cover of Metropolis Maniacs monthly. There’s ‘Why No Mr. Bond, I and my child bride expect you to die.” There’s, ‘I just bought your media company, I’m about to strip you for parts.’

“There’s, ‘space’s first racist sheriff.’ And finally, the less fuckable reimagining of Billy Zane’s character in Titanic. Truly, the man has range,” Oliver concluded.

He later added that Musk’s image has shifted considerably over the years, remembering that the billionaire used to be referred to as “Iron Man” in the press, given his superficial similarities to that fictional billionaire inventor, Tony Stark. Musk even made a cameo in Iron Man 2 as a wink to that early reputation.

Oliver shifted gears though to discuss Musk’s more controversial moments, including the recent antisemitic post on X (formerly known as Twitter, and still, as Oliver pointed out in the episode, referred to as Twitter by everyone who isn’t Musk) that Musk agreed with, and compared Musk to Henry Ford, the automobile magnate.

“Like Henry Ford, Elon Musk managed to build on the technology that others had invented,” he said. “That’s not actually the only way he’s like Henry Ford, which you’d know if you ever Googled either of their names and the word ‘antisemitism.’”

Oliver both praised Musk’s ingenuity and criticized him for his controversial opinions and work habits, and explained that he knew that the segment about the billionaire would have its fans as well as its detractors. But to wrap up the bit, Oliver said that, even though Musk himself may not be happy about the segment, he should be held accountable for his problematic behavior.

“The least surprising thing on earth is a middle-aged billionaire CEO with self-serving libertarian views, increasingly racist politics and a messiah complex, and it is long past time that he face the accountability that should come with that,” Oliver said before signing off.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs Sundays at 11/10c on HBO.