Elon Musk’s SNL Hosting Gig Is a Trap Shirley Li Updated at 11:31 a.m. ET on April 29, 2021 Elon Musk is an eyebrow-raising choice of host for Saturday Night Live. He’s a controversy-courting tech CEO with a tenuous connection to the entertainment industry. He’s never seemed interested in performing sketch comedy. And his Twitter following of more than 50 million accounts eclipses SNL’s audience—this season, the series’ highest-rated episode drew about 9 million viewers. Musk, in short, doesn’t need SNL. But SNL, which doesn’t typically invite guests like Musk to Studio 8H, seems to need him. Yes, the show has made atypical host choices in the past, including athletes, politicians, and, on occasion, sportscasters, but these figures have always arrived with a message and a motive for subjecting themselves to the trials of live TV. They want your vote, or your visit, or your viewership. Only once has