Elon Musk tweets and deletes conspiracy theory about Paul Pelosi attack

Austin, Texas - New Twitter boss Elon Musk tweeted and then deleted a conspiracy theory regarding the assault involving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband.

Elon Musk is in hot water after he tweeted and deleted a conspiracy theory regarding the recent assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband.
Elon Musk is in hot water after he tweeted and deleted a conspiracy theory regarding the recent assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband.  © Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

Only a few days after he officially bought Twitter, Musk tweeted a response to former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton regarding her statement on the man accused of committing the assault.

"There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye," the billionaire said.

Musk included a link to an article from the Santa Monica Observer, an outlet infamous for publishing fake stories.

Cardi B stuns fans with new look and bold piercings
Cardi B Cardi B stuns fans with new look and bold piercings

The article claims that Paul Pelosi, who was recently involved in a home invasion which led to him being hit with a hammer, was actually drunk and involved in some sort of altercation with a male prostitute.

But even the author describes the details of the story as "in my humble opinion."

While Musk quickly deleted the tweet, the influx in traffic reportedly crashed the Observer's site on Sunday morning, demonstrating just how influential he is.

Musk responds to Hillary Clinton's GOP criticism

Musk was responding to a tweet Clinton shared on Saturday that included a link to an LA Times article about David DePape, a man who has been arrested in connection with the assault on Pelosi and has spread far-right conspiracy theories in the past.

"The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories," she commented. "It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result."

Far from correcting the record, Musk's only response to the damaging tweet has been to lash out at The New York Times' report on the controversy.

Cover photo: Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

More on Elon Musk: