Tech mogul Elon Musk was refused service at “The Progressive Bean” espresso store in San Francisco due to his MAGA hat. In response, he returned the subsequent day and turned the cafe right into a know-how hub.
In mid-November 2024, as President-elect Donald Trump’s friendship with X CEO and billionaire Elon Musk got here beneath scrutiny, a video went viral claiming Musk was discriminated in opposition to at a espresso store.
Shared by the YouTube account HARMONIZED, the video claimed Musk was refused service at a espresso store as a result of he wore a Make America Nice Once more (MAGA) hat, referencing Trump’s marketing campaign slogan. With the title, “Elon Musk Refused Service As a result of Of Hat. Subsequent Day He Returns & Does THIS!” the video had over 2 million views as of this writing.
A voiceover within the video describes a scene between Musk and a espresso barista at “The Progressive Bean,” a espresso store in downtown San Francisco “recognized for its artisanal espresso and tech-friendly ambiance” and “an emblem of the town’s distinctive mix of innovation and social consciousness.”
The voiceover described how the barista purportedly refused to serve Musk:
“I am sorry sir however we reserve the appropriate to refuse service to anybody,” the barista acknowledged firmly her arms crossed. Her title tag learn “Tara” and he or she’d been working on the cafe for 3 years, pleased with its repute for being on the slicing fringe of each espresso tradition and social justice. The tall man in entrance of her wore a easy black hat, denims and a plain black T-shirt with a jacket on it. Nothing about his look appeared notably exceptional save for the MAGA brand on his hat that had apparently brought on such offense. The opposite clients started to note the commotion, some pulling out their telephones to file what was occurring. The morning solar streamed by way of the cafe’s massive home windows, highlighting the rising rigidity within the air. The person remained surprisingly calm, talking in a smooth South African accent that a number of folks in line discovered oddly acquainted. A bunch of tech employees from a close-by startup exchanged realizing glances however remained silent.
“I do not perceive,” he mentioned quietly, his fingers drumming thoughtfully on the counter. “I have been ready for 40 minutes. What precisely about my hat is problematic?” His tone carried real curiosity reasonably than confrontation as if he have been conducting an impromptu social experiment.
The supervisor Lisa emerged from the again room, a stern expression on her face. She’d constructed The Progressive Bean from the bottom up over the previous 5 years, remodeling it from a easy espresso store into what she thought of a beacon of forward-thinking values in the neighborhood.
“Sir we don’t assist a selected curiosity right here and we strive to not trigger commotion amidst our clients. We’d be blissful to serve you in case you eliminated it.”
The person within the baseball cap regarded across the cafe taking in each element from the “Everybody Welcome” signal prominently displayed on the wall, to the array of sustainability certifications proudly framed close to the register. His eyes lingered on the AI-powered espresso machines that had been featured in native tech magazines and the detailed infographic explaining the cafe’s solar energy system. A slight smile crossed his face, not certainly one of anger however of curiosity, as if he had simply encountered an attention-grabbing puzzle to resolve.
“Very nicely,” he mentioned merely turning towards the door. The morning gentle caught the metallic threading in his hat’s brand making it shimmer momentarily. As he walked out he paused to look again on the institution’s title, The Progressive Bean. The smile by no means left his face however there was one thing in his eyes. Not anger or resentment however the spark of inspiration that those that knew him would have immediately acknowledged. That is as a result of the person within the baseball cap was Elon Musk although on that exact day he had been attempting to take care of a low profile. The hat that had brought on such controversy bore the Make America Nice Once more brand however little did he know it might result in such denial.
The remainder of the video addresses how Musk returned to the espresso store the subsequent day to remodel “the café right into a groundbreaking sustainable know-how hub, creating instructional applications and proving that the perfect response to prejudice is progress.”
However there isn’t a proof of Musk ever getting into and having this alternate in a espresso store, neither is there proof {that a} cafe known as The Progressive Bean was refurbished right into a tech hub. Pictures within the video and the accompanying voiceover are seemingly AI-generated. As such, we charge this declare as faux.
The story being informed within the video suggests the creator was poking enjoyable at “progressive” espresso store cultures and satirizing their purported exclusion of Trump supporters. It additionally presents Musk as being open-minded, assembly opposition with endurance and politeness. HARMONIZED, the YouTube account that posted this declare, has made a number of movies with poorly edited photos and voiceovers, all showing Musk doing one thing inspirational, like helping a veteran pay for his groceries, an incident that allegedly made headlines.
We have been unable to confirm the authenticity of Musk’s interplay with the veteran, nor have been we capable of finding the purported headlines, however the video makes use of the identical language to explain the tech mogul who additionally shows “real curiosity” there.
We looked for proof of Musk and this espresso store, and our Google searches despatched us again to the YouTube video. If this had been an actual incident — and Musk had returned to remodel the supposed espresso store right into a know-how heart — then it might have been coated by the information media. We discovered no proof of a “The Progressive Bean” espresso store in downtown San Francisco, although we did discover cafes with names like “The Progress” and “Progressive Grounds.”
The voiceover within the video additionally mentioned onlookers recorded the interplay on their telephones; nevertheless, we discovered no proof of such movies posted on social media.
The robotic voiceover was one other suspicious component within the video. At varied factors, background noise was added to the voiceover, together with sounds of birds chirping and chatter, presumably meant to evoke cafe patrons. Nonetheless, the background sound lower abruptly. The video relied solely on nonetheless photos. Not a single particular person represented within the video, together with Musk, was seen transferring their lips or making any of the statements alleged within the voiceover.
Utilizing varied screenshots from the video footage, we used AI-detection device True Media, to find out their authenticity. The under screenshot exhibits Musk standing in entrance of The Progressive Bean espresso store. Once we enter this picture into the device, it discovered “substantial proof of manipulation.”
(Screenshot by way of YouTube/TheHARMONIZED)
The device evaluation stated that whereas Musk’s face had not been manipulated, the mixture of him and the espresso store was uncommon, suggesting a possible manipulation to create humor or satire.
Moreover, we used Google’s reverse-image device to have a look at screenshots of the purported “supervisor” of the espresso store, Lisa. All the outcomes took us again to the unique YouTube video.
Trump has been spotted with Musk since successful the election, tapping him within the newly created position of co-leader of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
