Billionaire tech giant Elon Musk made some wildly unsubstantiated claims during his bizarre press conference in the White House Oval Office with President Donald Trump – including the suggestion that “150-years-old” individuals were still receiving social security payments.

The federal benefit, which helps to provide vital payments to veterans and low income families, along with support for the elderly, sick and disabled, is administered by the US government, but many have questioned the validity of Musk’s claims that someone a century and a half old could still be claiming.

Speaking to the press with US President Donald Trump, Musk did not offer any proof for his statement: “We got people in there who are 150-years-old,” he claimed.

“Anyone who is 150-years-old and still receiving Social Security should be in the Guinness Book of World Records, or either dead, in my opinion.

“That’s a case I think they are probably dead,” Musk continued as Trump cackled next to him.”Or very famous. One of the two.”

Musk’s remarks sparked a torrent of reactions on social media, with users on the X platform (which Musk owns) lambasting the SpaceX CEO. A frustrated user commented: “I hate this site. Elon Musk’s Big Lie Machine. Just name the 150-year-olds ‘receiving Social Security payments’ Show us the dead people’s names.”

Another pointed out: “The oldest living American is 114, and people are really stupid enough to believe Elon Musk found social security payments to people who are 150. Nobody on the planet is that old.”

This was Musk’s first time in the spotlight since being appointed as the leader of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), reported The Express US. Doge has been operating largely behind closed doors and without transparency. DOGE’s mission is to cut down on federal expenditure.

Trump heaped praise on Musk’s dealings with doge on Tuesday, revealing they’ve unearthed “shocking” discoveries of frivolous expenditure. The Republican leader enacted an executive order to amplify Musk’s sway and persist in trimming down the governmental staff count.

Defending DOGE’s endeavour, Musk heralded it as “common sense.”

“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get,” he declared, affirming the essence of democracy.