For years, social media posts have claimed that Elon Musk had a cameo role in the Marvel film "Iron Man 2."
"In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark talks to Elon Musk once but never appears with him again for the rest of the MCU – because Tony Stark learns from his mistakes," a Reddit post said on June 26, 2023.
In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark talks to Elon Musk once but never appears with him again for the rest of the MCU – because Tony Stark learns from his mistakes
by u/BrickBuster2552 in shittymoviedetails
We also found posts about the claim on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Tumblr.
We found the claim is true. Musk did appear in "Iron Man 2", a Marvel movie that was released in 2010. We reviewed the movie on Disney+ and found the cameo included in the film, as well as the clip posted on YouTube:
In the scene, Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, who play the two main leads in the film, attend an event in Monaco. Paltrow's character approaches and greets Musk, who congratulates her on the promotion her character received earlier in the movie.
Downey Jr.'s character then approaches Musk. They said:
Downey Jr.: Elon, how's it going? Those Merlin engines are fantastic.
Musk: Thank you. Yeah, I've got an idea for an electric jet.
Downey Jr.: You do?
Musk: Yeah.
Downey Jr.: Then we'll make it work.
During the credits of "Iron Man 2," Musk was credited as himself.
In 2016, director Jon Favreau said on Vox's former Recode Decode podcast that "Iron Man 2" filmed for free at SpaceX, one of Musk's companies. We found that the company, as well as Musk and former assistant Mary Beth Brown, received special thanks during the credits of the movie.
"Iron Man" and Musk are also linked in other ways. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal wrote that Musk provided inspiration for Tony Stark, the character Downey Jr. played in the movies. The publication wrote:
"My mind is not easily blown," Mr. Downey said after visiting Mr. Musk's rocket factory outside Los Angeles. "But this place and this guy were amazing."
We've previously fact-checked other claims about Musk, including whether he was banned from Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg.