Elon Musk still hasn’t gotten over the tragic death of an internet-famous squirrel.
Musk dragged Peanut the Squirrel, who was euthanized by the State of New York last year, into the furor over the Trump administration’s failure to release the much-hyped files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“They arrested (and killed) Peanut, but have not even tried to file charges against anyone on the Epstein client list. Government is deeply broken,” Musk wrote in an X post on Tuesday, accompanied by a meme that read: “More squirrels and raccoons have been arrested than anyone on Epstein’s client list.”
They arrested (and killed) Peanut, but have not even tried to file charges against anyone on the Epstein client list.Government is deeply broken. pic.twitter.com/YndRadQUBE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 8, 2025
Peanut was an orphaned squirrel who became a social media star after being rescued by Mark Longo in 2017. Longo documented his life with Peanut and several other rescue animals on an Instagram account that amassed close to 1 million followers.
In October 2024, however, Peanut was taken to be euthanized by authorities after anonymous complainants reported him. (Owning a squirrel is illegal in New York.)
Longo told TMZ he was honored that Musk mentioned Peanut, but hoped the world’s richest man would support the legal action he’s taking against the local and state agencies that seize animals.
A post shared by Peanut The Squirrel (@peanut_the_squirrel12)
Musk joined thousands of social media users in condemning the killing of the beloved internet pet.
“The government should not be allowed to barge into your house and kill your pet! That’s messed up,” he said in November last year. “Even if it is illegal to have a pet squirrel (which it shouldn’t be), why kill PNut instead of simply releasing him into the forest!?”
“President @realDonaldTrump will save the squirrels 🐿️ 😢 RIP P’Nut,” he wrote in another post.
A lot has changed in a year. On Tuesday, Musk wrote: “How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?”
How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 8, 2025
MAGA World exploded after Attorney General Pam Bondi failed to deliver the Epstein files, which she hyped up for months.
“In February, I did an interview on Fox that is getting a lot of attention because I was asked a question about the client list. And my response was, ‘It is sitting on my desk to be reviewed,’ meaning the files, along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That is what I meant by that,” she said Tuesday. “That is it on Epstein.”
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