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Did Malala Get Crushed by a Tesla? No, But Her Response to SpaceX’s Elon Musk Is Perfect

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By Chelsea Gohd
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A Tesla Roadster and a mannequin "driver" were launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Feb. 6, 2018. The Roadster came equipped with cameras to show the view from orbit.
A Tesla Roadster and a mannequin "driver" were launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Feb. 6, 2018. The Roadster came equipped with cameras to show the view from orbit. (Image credit: SpaceX)

In a satirical interaction almost too good to be true, activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai confronted Elon Musk on Twitter.

Yousafzai took to Twitter to address ClickHole's sarcastic assertion that she was struck by the Tesla Roadster Musk rocketed into orbit carrying the now infamous Starman.

Yesterday (May 31), Elon Musk's name surfaced on Twitter, but not for the reasons you might be thinking. In the wake of his recent activity on social media, ClickHole published an article titled "More Bad Press For Elon: The Car Elon Musk Launched Into Orbit Has Fallen Back Down To Earth And Crushed Malala Yousafzai."

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The article, clearly a joke, centered around Musk's increasingly divisive reputation on Twitter. But Yousafzai responded swiftly and brilliantly. She tweeted at Elon Musk, "Hello from the other side," playing along with the satire. Eliciting a warm response back from Musk, she replied, "I'm keeping the car btw!"

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For once in what feels like a very long time, the public Twitter dialogue about this bizarre interaction is both playful and positive. These tweets show that Yousafzai is not only unsurprisingly hilarious, but definitely gifted at bringing people together in peace, even on Twitter. 

Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her @chelsea_gohd. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Chelsea Gohd
Space.com

Chelsea Gohd joined Space.com as an intern in the summer of 2018 and returned as a Staff Writer in 2019. After receiving a B.S. in Public Health, she worked as a science communicator at the American Museum of Natural History. Chelsea has written for publications including Scientific American, Discover Magazine Blog, Astronomy Magazine, Live Science, All That is Interesting, AMNH Microbe Mondays blog, The Daily Targum and Roaring Earth. When not writing, reading or following the latest space and science discoveries, Chelsea is writing music, singing, playing guitar and performing with her band Foxanne (@foxannemusic). You can follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd.