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Twitter CEO Elon Musk's Diet Coke tweet sparked strong reactions from liberals in the media on Tuesday, who found a deeper meaning behind the billionaire's favorite drink.
Musk tweeted out a picture of his bedside table with several Diet Coke cans, a pair of prop guns, a Buddhist symbol and a painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River. But for some on the left, the soda was the most controversial item.
Musk has professed multiple times on Twitter that he enjoys the beverage. He followed up this picture by confessing "there's no excuse" for his "lack of coasters," and by calling himself "Elon Musket."
But some liberals reacted to the tweet by making cult comparisons and berating the CEO for having poor taste.
Elon Musk has wasted little time making his mark on Twitter since he took over last month.
Hollywood composer Shawn Patterson crassly responded, "How shocking: the richest man on Earth is a 'f---ing trailer park simpleton."
Liberal author and pastor John Pavlovitz added, "Also pictured, male fragility."
Former Obama White House photographer Pete Souza declared Musk's favorite drink could cause psychological effects.
"Too much Diet Coke can cause severe depression," he warned.
Elon Musk tweeted out an image of his bedside stand with several Diet Coke cans on it. (AP Photo/File)
Others took issue with the guns and photo of Washington.
NBC News national security analyst Frank Figliuzzi said about the gun props, "Thank God they removed the trigger for you."
Sirius XM host Dean Obeidallah complained, "Musk puts images of American revolution on bedside as a prop to counter his smearing of a US military veteran. He's a South African who moved to Canada and became a citizen of Canada. When things didn't work out in Canada he finally moved to US. Elon Musk is NO friend of the USA."
Many on the left are sounding the alarm about Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. (FOX)
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The picture also prompted The Washington Post to do a deep dive into the "hardcore Diet Coke cult."
Emily Heil's piece touted how Musk had something "in common with the common man," while arguing that those who enjoy the drink were part of a "cult."
"They are a tribe whose allegiance to the product goes beyond brand loyalty and into something deeper," she wrote.
The Post piece connected Musk to former president Donald Trump and disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, with an unflattering 2018 quote from The New Yorker.
The Post piece connected Elon Musk to former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
"It is, the magazine declared, ‘the elixir of soft-bodied plutocrats desperate to shed their shady pasts and, possibly, a few pounds,'" Heil wrote.
The drink provoked more outrage from left-leaning culture outlets Gawker, Slate and The Cut.
Irreverent entertainment blog Gawker mocked Musk's drink of choice as one for "psychos" with "no taste."
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Writer Olivia Craighead declared that caffeine-free Coke was worse than "sh--, maggots, and scum," and "Ultimately, it is for freaks and losers, so it’s no surprise that Elon Musk apparently can’t get enough of the stuff."
Slate also mocked the picture as an "alarming" "self-own," while a writer for The Cut called the photo "absolutely terrifying."
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