Within minutes of his post, the hashtag #CBSToast was trending, with fans of Musk (and critics of CBS) piling on. Memes featuring toasted bread and melted butter over the CBS logo flooded social media. One particularly viral tweet read, “If Elon says CBS is toast, I guess I’ll need to switch to waffles.”

The debate in question was already under fire before Musk stepped in. Moderated by CBS, it quickly turned into what critics called a “fact-check frenzy” with J.D. Vance being interrupted more times than a toddler at a toy store. Vance’s camp accused the moderators of bias, claiming they had it out for the Republican candidate from the start. And while Tim Walz got his fair share of fact-checks, it seemed Vance was in the crosshairs most of the night.

Enter Elon Musk, who, like many of his Twitter followers, was watching the debate in horror—or so he claimed. Musk reportedly texted several high-profile friends during the debate, asking if they were witnessing what he called “the death of unbiased journalism.”

“Watching CBS tonight was like watching a sinking ship,” Musk said during an impromptu live stream with his loyal fanbase. “They spent more time fact-checking J.D. than letting him talk. How is anyone supposed to hear actual policies when all we hear are corrections?”

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