Spaced out: No, Elon Musk, aliens did not build Egypt's pyramids, world tells controversial billionaire

Egypt has invited Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to visit the pyramids to 'explore' how the structures were built following a controversial tweet fueling conspiracy theories.

On Friday, Musk tweeted "Aliens built the pyramids obv" to over 37 million followers, drawing outrage and criticisms from social media users who accused the tech giant of racism.

The tweet also drew a response from an Egyptian government official.

"I invite you & Space X to explore the writings about how the pyramids were built and also to check out the tombs of the pyramid builders," Egypt's Minister of International Co-operation Rania al-Mashat said.

Musk had also tweeted an explainer by the BBC which refuted the tweet, leading to some suggesting the remark was satirical. 

Twitter Post

The shared piece highlights the story of "the ordinary people who built the pyramids" providing analysis of DNA samples taken from the workers' bones and stating that "no trace of any alien race; human or intergalactic," were found despite the widespread pyramid theories.

While Musk is no stranger to deliberately making untrue statements on Twitter, the recent tweet sparked debate on social media.

"It's racist for Elon Musk to say the pyramids were built by aliens because that means Africans aren't smart enough to have done it," one person said. 

Read also: Egypt says 4,400-year-old tomb discovered outside Cairo

Egyptian achaeologist Zahi Hawass was also not amused by the remark. In a video, the iconic Egyptologist said Musk's argument was a "hallucination".

Hawass insisted the pyramids were bult by Egyptians, citing tombs he had personally examined as evidence, among other findings.

Musk did not publicly respond to the Egyptian invitation by the time of publication.

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