Is the photo of Elon Musk's large stomach real? Barrel chest meaning explored as tweet goes viral
On November 10, a photo of Elon Musk with an enlarged stomach and chest went viral on X. This comes after the tech entrepreneur made headlines for endorsing Donald Trump as the latter emerged victorious in the presidential elections. Despite the tweet going viral online, it is important to note that the image of him in the social media post is not real.
X user @esjesesj took to the social networking site to share an image of Elon Musk’s stomach and chest looking large. They also wrote in the caption:
“He always posts AI pictures of himself because he actually looks like this.”
The tweet had amassed over 23 million views at the time of writing this article, with other X users like @theliamnissan and @davmander, among others, taking to the social networking site to share the images as well.
Despite the picture in question spreading rapidly online, it is important to note that it is not real. It is a digitally altered image.
The fake pictures of Elon Musk originated from a YouTube video
YouTube channel Everyday Astronaut uploaded a video on June 22, 2024, titled First Look Inside SpaceX’s Starfactory w/ Elon Musk. At the 2:26 mark of the video, one could see Elon Musk with a physique similar to the aforementioned images.
However, it is worth noting that the images going viral are digitally altered. An unknown netizen has extended the size of Musk’s chest and stomach to make it look much bigger than it actually is.
Meanwhile, followers of the Tesla founder have taken to X to discuss how the tech entrepreneur is actually “barrel-chested” in reality. On November 9, X user @crazythatoo said:
“Let me to research what causes one to have a “Barrel chest” because apparently Elon Musk has that …”
X usr @sam_gzstrength also took to the social networking site to comment on Musk’s “big barrel chest.”
On August 5, 2022, The Post also called Elon Musk “the barrel-chested billionaire.”
For those uninitiated, being 'barrel chest' is a common condition where one’s chest appears to be rounded or puffed up like a barrel. It is not a disease, but it can signal several underlying conditions. According to Healthline, barrel chests often occur when the lungs become overfilled like a balloon, subsequently leading to the rib cage expanding for a long time.
Those with barrel chests often suffer from difficulty breathing, coughing, wheezing, gasping, rib tenderness, back soreness, and other conditions.
Musk has been open about not taking his health as seriously as he should in the past. In 2022, he said on the Full Send podcast that:
“I gotta work out and be in better shape. I actually don’t really like working out, but I gotta do it.”
The following year, the 53-year-old took to X to reveal that he was using the drug Wegovy and was fasting. Wegovy is an FDA-approved drug that is used for “chronic weight management.”
As per Business Insider, Musk shared that he lost about 20 pounds by using the drug.
Other drugs like Ozempic also went viral after Musk admitted to using Wegovy.