Fact-check: Elon Musk comments on Pakistan's rejection of No-First Use policy?

Amid the recent Iran-Israel war, a video clip began circulating online purportedly showing businessman Elon Musk praising Pakistan's nuclear doctrine.

In the clip, Musk appears to claim that out of the nine countries possessing nuclear arsenals, only Pakistan has rejected the “no first use” policy, meaning the country reserves the right to use nuclear weapons first in a conflict.

The claim is false. The video has been doctored to include references to Pakistan.

Claim

On June 21, a short video began circulating on social media, appearing to show an interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In the clip, Musk is heard saying: "Did you know only nine countries have nuclear power and almost all of them signed one agreement that we won't use nukes first. But there is one country that said we are not signing that. That country is Pakistan."

He then allegedly adds that this means if anyone threatens Pakistan, it "won't raise a finger, it will burn the whole hand," and claims that is "exactly why India backed off."

"Remember that Pakistan is not just a nuclear power, it is a champion of psychological warfare," Musk purportedly says.

The post has been viewed over 334,000 times and reposted more than 1,900 times to date.

Similar claims were also shared on X, Instagram and on Facebook here, here and here.

Fact

The actual interview of Elon Musk is eight years old and has been spliced and edited to insert references to Pakistan.

A reverse image search by Geo Fact Check found that the original interview was published on the official TED Talks channel on May 3, 2017. Geo Fact Check reviewed the complete 40-minute interview and confirmed that Musk made no mention of Pakistan or its nuclear policy.

The complete interview can be seen here.

Geo Fact Check then used Hive Moderation and Attestiv, both AI-generated content detection platforms, to analyse the clip. Hive Moderation found that the video was 91% likely to contain AI-generated content, while Attestiv assigned it a Tamper Score of 89, indicating it was not authentic.

Furthermore, it is inaccurate to claim that Pakistan is the only country to reject a no first use (NFU) policy. In reality, the majority of the nuclear powers have not adopted NFU policies.

Verdict: The claim is false. The video has been digitally altered to insert fabricated statements about Pakistan's nuclear policy. In the authentic interview, Elon Musk made no reference to Pakistan, and expert analysis confirms the clip is manipulated.

Follow us on @GeoFactCheck on X (Twitter) and @geo_factcheck on Instagram. If our readers detect any errors, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected]