Italian Minister Calls Elon Musk a Madman, Says He Should Be Locked in a Psychiatric Hospital

In what is fast becoming one of the most bizarre and incendiary transatlantic political spats in recent memory, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has launched a fiery counterattack against Italian minister Vincenzo De Luca, after the latter publicly labeled him a "cokehead," "junkie," and "nutcase"—going so far as to suggest the tech billionaire should be institutionalized.

The drama ignited when a video surfaced showing De Luca, President of the Campania region in Italy, responding to a journalist’s question about Elon Musk’s recent proposal for a global “tariff truce.” Instead of addressing the proposal itself, De Luca lashed out with a string of personal insults, accusing Musk of being a dangerous influence, mentally unstable, and unfit for public admiration.

“I think Elon Musk should be placed under 5150 psychiatric hold—or TSO, as it’s called in Italy. And it should be done quickly too,” De Luca stated, referencing Italy’s legal procedure for involuntary psychiatric hospitalization.

The Italian politician didn’t stop there. In the same breath, he attacked his country’s own Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, for allegedly embracing Musk as a symbol of progress and global innovation. “That being said, tariffs threaten to harm everyone,” De Luca said, before taking a direct jab at Meloni’s right-wing political branding.

“I remember Georgia Meloni proposed her party as the party of god, fatherland, and family. If they hold party conventions and invite Musk, then so much for god, fatherland and family.”

De Luca continued with unrelenting fury, descending further into personal attacks: “This guy has 13–15 children around the world. He is a cokehead, a junkie, a nutcase. If you want to pull fast ones like these, you end up paying them.” The remarks triggered immediate backlash online, prompting both condemnation and a flurry of memes.

But perhaps no response was more notable than Musk’s own. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Musk responded in classic Musk fashion—by posting a screenshot of a conversation with his AI assistant Grok, asking the chatbot to “roast this douchebag in Italian.” He captioned the post with a sardonic “Buono sera, buono sera...” (Good evening, good evening…), mocking De Luca’s nationalistic tone and formal political posture.

In another separate post, Musk wrote: “The poor deluded fool still thinks the news is real,” directly referring to De Luca’s media appearance.

Observers say this public feud is emblematic of a deeper divide in the modern political discourse: the clash between traditional European populist conservatism and the rising influence of tech magnates who command not only economic power, but also cult-like digital followings. De Luca, known for his theatrical speeches and controversial statements, has frequently taken a hard stance against what he views as the dangerous “Americanization” of political communication.

In Musk, he seems to have found the perfect enemy—an eccentric billionaire who personifies the digital chaos, libertarian ideology, and celebrity worship that De Luca loathes.

For Musk, the attack plays into his long-standing brand as an anti-establishment rebel. The world’s richest man has often clashed with regulators, governments, and the media.

But rarely has a political leader gone so far as to suggest that he be committed to a psychiatric hospital. By weaponizing humor and AI to respond, Musk not only reinforced his carefully curated persona as the playful tech savant but also drew attention to the absurdity of the accusation.

Critics of De Luca have pointed out the dangerous implications of labeling someone as mentally ill based on political disagreement or public image. "Using mental health as a weapon in political debate is irresponsible and stigmatizing," one mental health advocate tweeted.

Supporters of Musk echoed the sentiment, arguing that De Luca's statements reeked of desperation and xenophobia.

Still, De Luca’s remarks resonate with a segment of the European public skeptical of billionaires’ growing power. With Musk increasingly involved in not just business but geopolitics—through ventures like Starlink, Neuralink, and xAI—his role as a private citizen with outsized influence continues to provoke tension.

His recent push for a “tariff truce” was meant to ease trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe, but De Luca and others saw it as unwelcome interference from a non-elected actor.

As the fallout from the spat continues to unfold online, analysts are asking whether this signals a new chapter in the political weaponization of personal attacks, especially in the age of AI, memes, and viral video.

Elon Musk remains undeterred. Hours after De Luca’s video went viral, Musk posted a meme of a psychiatrist’s couch with the caption: “Welcome to my office, Mr. De Luca.” It’s clear the world’s most unpredictable tech leader has no intention of backing down.

In the meantime, De Luca faces mounting criticism both at home and abroad for dragging political dialogue to new lows. What began as a conversation about tariffs has now become a case study in 21st-century political theater, where insults fly faster than policies, and a social media post can carry more weight than a government statement.

One thing is clear: the battle between Elon Musk and Vincenzo De Luca is far from over. And in the age of information warfare and digital ridicule, neither side is likely to apologize—because in this war of words, going viral is the ultimate victory.