'Freaking Me Out': Elon Musk Pranks Canadian Professor Gad Saad, Who Once Called Him 'A Modern Day Honey Badger'

During a light-hearted conversation on X, Elon Musk pranked Canadian Professor Gad Saad, confusing him momentarily and having other listeners of the chat in splits.

What Happened: Musk had a funny moment with Saad on X Spaces on Sunday where he greeted the professor in a squeaky voice. Saad was initially confused and couldn't figure out who it was on the other end of the chat.

"All right, so how are you doing, Elon?" asked Saad, greeting Musk on the chat. Musk responded in a high-pitched, helium-infused voice, saying "I'm doing great."

This left the other listeners on the chat in splits, with Saad visibly flustered. "What? Wait a minute, I'm hearing a weird voice, who is this?" he said, adjusting his glasses.

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Musk then adjusted his voice and asked him if his voice was normal again, but Saad was still confused. "You're freaking me out, Elon."

But Musk was not done with pranking Saad yet. He then played what was supposed to sound like a thunderstorm but ended up sounding like someone was flushing the toilet.

Saad has previously called Musk a "modern day honey badger" after he slammed former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, for calling Musk a "robber baron."

"I'm liking this @elonmusk guy. A modern day honey badger!" Saad said in a Facebook post.

He has called Musk a "honey badger" in posts on X later as well.

Honey badgers are known for their strength, toughness and ferocity.

Why It Matters: This wasn't the only playful exchange Musk shared with Saad on the Spaces chat – the two also laughed at an educational venture idea. Musk proposed creating the Texas Institute of Technology & Science. The acronym, T.I.T.S., caused the listeners to chuckle.

While Musk might have said this in a light-hearted manner this time, he has been talking about setting up an educational venture for a while now – going back to 2021.

In December 2023, Musk was reportedly considering plans to fund a new university in Austin, Texas, with a focus on STEM.

STEM is short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

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