Billionaire Elon Musk has conspiracy theorists celebrating once again after responding on Wednesday to a “Q drop.”
The incident unfolded after a follower of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which revolves around the belief that President-elect Donald Trump has been waging a years-long battle against a cabal of pedophile and child-sacrificing Democrats, replied to Musk with a coded message.
Q drops are the posts that were made to numerous image boards such as 4chan, 8chan, and 8kun by “Q,” an anonymous account that conspiracy theorists believe was run by government insiders working for Trump.
The drops, despite being vague, inaccurate, or nonsensical, are always interpreted by conspiracy theorists in a way that props up their beliefs. Q drops that are proven false, such as the claim that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be arrested in 2017, are largely ignored.
In the comment to Musk, a QAnon supporter known as @John_M_Q shared a long-winded screed about how the billionaire’s post about playing the video game Diablo was somehow tied to “Q Drop 134.” In that drop, first made on Nov 11, 2017, Q shares their usual vague commentary, this time about Saudi Arabia, while mentioning potential arrests of high-profile figures.
“The mention of ‘Diablo Tier 150’ could symbolize the extreme levels of difficulty in dismantling deep-seated power structures, akin to Musk’s admiration for tackling challenges head-on,” the user responded.
Despite the post being pure conjecture, Musk responded in agreement before alleging not to know what a Q drop was.
“Not sure what Q drop means, but the other stuff is pretty accurate,” Musk said.
Elon Musk QAnon drop reignites conspiracy
Unsurprisingly, Musk’s amplification of the post sent shock waves throughout the QAnon movement.
Many speculated that Musk’s response was a secretive admission of knowledge on the matter, once again highlighting how followers of QAnon will interpret anything to conform to their conspiratorial beliefs.
“Elon’s response feels calculated—acknowledging accuracy in ‘the other stuff’ without diving into specifics about Q drops,” a user named cf wrote. “Makes you wonder if he’s staying neutral or just keeping the conversation open-ended for a reason.”
“When one of the smartest people on Earth says ‘No sure what Q drop means’, that actually means something! Interesting indeed!” the user Kevin Teng added.
Others inundated Musk’s replies with examples of numerous Q drops to educate the X owner on the conspiracy theory.
In just one example, a user named Obvious Statement Man shared screenshots claiming that the recent mention of the Senate by Vice President-elect JD Vance was actually predicted by a Q drop from 6 years prior.
Although Musk denies knowing much about the conspiracy theory, the billionaire has repeatedly amplified QAnon content.
On Nov. 5, Musk promoted a QAnon hype video advocating for Trump that had been put together by a pro-Nazi user.
In November 2023, Musk shared the term “Q*ANON” to his X account while discussing artificial intelligence.
With Trump soon to be back in office and Musk’s control over X, it seems entirely possible that the QAnon movement will see a resurgence in 2025.
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