A photo allegedly showing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos seated together often circulates online. It was a genuine image of the pair, not the product of digital manipulation or artificial intelligence (AI) software.
Examples of the picture have appeared on social media for years, including on Reddit and Facebook. In mid-January 2025, Musk himself shared the image, writing, "Wow, a lot has happened in 21 years!"
Wow, a lot has happened in 21 years! https://t.co/QNoOWuIfLP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025
Musk also responded to a November 2024 post with the image (archived), writing, "How time flies."
TinEye reverse image search results showed that the image had circulated online as early as November 2009.
However, the picture originated from a 2008 article about a "Master Class" organized by Edge.org, which describes itself as the online version of "The Reality Club," an "informal gathering of intellectuals." The article was titled "A Short Course in Behavioral Economics."
The full version of the image also featured Sendhil Mullainathan (left), a professor of economics at Harvard and author, Musk (center) and Bezos (right).
(www.edge.org)
However, details about who took the picture and the specific context behind it are unclear. Snopes has reached out to Edge.org for clarification and will update this report if we receive a response.
This isn't the first time we've looked into claims about Musk. You can explore more in our collection: "25 Rumors We've Fact-Checked About Elon Musk."