Culture

Elon Musk just crowned himself the Technoking of Tesla

And CFO Zach Kirkhorn is now the company's Master of Coin. Totally normal.

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) gestures as he arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Sprin...
BRITTA PEDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images

Elon Musk’s official title at Tesla is now “Technoking,” according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. He’s still retaining his role as CEO of the company, too — just with the additional techno crown atop his head as well.

Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Zach Kirkhorn, also appears to have been given a promotion of sorts. In the same SEC filing, Kirkhorn is referred to as Tesla’s “Master of Coin.” He’ll also be keeping his CFO title.

It’s very unclear why, exactly, Musk and Kirkhorn have adjusted their titles in such an unconventional style. Kirkhorn’s title seems to be in reference to Game of Thrones, where the Master of Coin is in charge of the royal treasury and a close ally of the ruling monarchy. Musk is apparently the head of that monarchy. If these title changes seem absurd and meaningless, well, that’s because they are. Musk loves nothing more than cracking himself up — even if doing so makes the rest of the internet cringe.

Haha…funny… Though Musk has yet to comment publicly upon the occasion of his crowning, it’s fairly easy to parse out his reasons for doing so. It’s a joke. Or, at least, what Musk considers a joke.

Musk’s love of cold hard cash is only rivaled by his love of bad humor. He loves to crack jokes on Twitter, usually in the form of barely comprehendible puns. It doesn’t help that since he’s rallied a massive fan base around him there’s never a shortage of people willing to hype him up after making his latest dad joke.

Shangela summed it up best on Rupaul’s Drag Race.

Not a great look; not his worst — Changing your official title to Technoking doesn’t exactly come across as professional. And using a Game of Thrones reference in 2021 is pretty passé, if you ask us, especially given how the show ends.

But some of Musk’s other pranks have come with far more risk. Like the “Not-a-Flamethrower” gag gift, which is, in fact, a flamethrower, and keeps showing up in drug and weapons seizures by police in the U.S. and Canada. Let’s not forget the time Musk thought it would be good business for a car company to sell tequila.

This Master of Coin didn’t have very good luck.

We have to wonder whether or not Musk’s antics will eventually prove too problematic for his own good. Already Technoking Musk’s “erratic” tweets have investors suing the Tesla board — a trend that’s sure to go upward if he continues.