Fact Check: No proof Musk solved 'unsolvable' math problem at Harvard
Claim:
Elon Musk solved an 'unsolvable' math problem after a Harvard professor called him 'rich but dumb.'
Rating:
In May 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that the tech entrepreneur and former Trump adviser Elon Musk solved an "unsolvable" math problem after a Harvard professor called him "rich but dumb."
A Harvard Professor Mocked Elon Musk as 'Rich But Dumb'—Then Musk Solved an 'Unsolveable' Math Problem in 2 MINUTES! 😱 The Crowd Went SILENT!
Dr. Edward Kline, a 62-year-old calculus professor at Stanford with a reputation for his rigorous teaching style, was among the skeptics. "Mr. Musk, you may have billions, but intelligence isn't something you can buy. I doubt you could solve a basic Harvard problem that my students struggle with." Kline handed Musk a whiteboard marker with a smirk, saying, "Let's see if you can handle this in under 10 minutes. I'll be impressed if you even get halfway." What happened next left the room in stunned silence....
The claim circulated mostly on (archived) Facebook (archived) and X (archived), accompanied by two images that claimed to show the moment Musk triumphantly solved the math problem. Some self-described fictional YouTube (archived) videos (archived) presented a similar narrative around May 2025.
However, we found no proof that the alleged encounter at Harvard University actually happened. Searches on online search engines brought up no credible reports about the event (archived) (archived) (archived). One of the images that accompanied the claim featured a logo for Grok, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by the Musk-owned company xAI. Online detectors rated the other image highly likely to have been generated by AI. Furthermore, we found no trace of "Dr. Edward Kline," allegedly a Stanford University mathematics professor. Therefore, we rate this claim false.
The claim circulated since at least May 23, 2025, alongside two images. These images carried several clues that the claim was false. Firstly, one of the images was generated by AI, as evidenced by the Grok logo in the bottom-right corner. Additionally, the Grok image poorly resembled Musk, as evidenced by recent authentic photos.
(Grok/Snopes Illustration)
The other image featured alongside the story did not carry a visible sign it was generated by AI. However, online detectors SightEngine and Hive Moderation said the image was highly likely to be AI-generated. Hive Moderation said Grok likely created the image.
(Sightengine/Hive Moderation/Snopes Illustration)
In addition to the AI-generated images, aspects of the claim text also contained inconsistencies.
For example, the text said "A Harvard Professor Mocked Elon Musk" but then identified the professor as "Dr. Edward Kline, a 62-year-old calculus professor at Stanford."
There was also no trace of a Dr. Edward Kline at either Stanford or Harvard universities. A broader online search found multiple Dr. Edward Klines but none who taught mathematics at either Stanford or Harvard.
Despite the above, the claim might include one grain of truth: A Harvard professor did warn Elon Musk about a problem he "will never solve" in 2024. However, the problem wasn't (entirely) mathematical. Jason Furman, an economist and Harvard economics professor, said Musk could not cut $2 trillion from the U.S. budget "on his own" — the original goal set for Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The "professor mocked Elon Musk" story is also reminiscent of an urban legend long told about Albert Einstein in which, as a college student, the future theoretical physicist humiliated an atheist professor by demonstrating that God can co-exist with evil.
An "unsolvable math problem" tale that turned out to be true involves a college student mistaking examples of unsolved statistics problems for a homework assignment, took them home and solved them.
Snopes has investigated a plethora of rumors about Elon Musk including whether he remotely shut down Tesla cars owned by Democrats or whether Starlink, his satellite internet service provider, can't operate in South Africa because Musk isn't Black.
6,091 Elon Musk Photos & High Res Pictures - Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com/search/2/image?family=editorial&phrase=elon%20musk&sort=newest&specificpeople=4448862. Accessed 30 May 2025.
"AI Image Detector. Detect AI-Generated Media at Scale." Sightengine, https://sightengine.com/detect-ai-generated-images. Accessed 30 May 2025.
"Dr. Edward Kline, 81, Retired Official of G.E." New York Times, 2 Apr. 1990, https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/02/obituaries/dr-edward-kline-81-retired-official-of-ge.html.
Economist Warns Elon Musk Will Never Solve This One Problem on His Own. 22 May 2025, https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/publications/economist-warns-elon-musk-will-never-solve-one-problem-his-own.
"Elon Musk Harvard Professor Unsolvable Problem." Bing, https://www.bing.com/search?q=elon+musk+harvard+professor+unsolvable+problem&form=QBLH&sp=-1&lq=0&pq=elon+musk+harvard+professor+unsolvable+problem≻=0-46&qs=n&sk=&cvid=A5178A3AAE314C8DB6630874AFC75683. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Elon Musk Harvard Professor Unsolvable Problem - Yahoo Search Results. https://uk.news.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AwrLA4VXrTloFAIAH6RLBQx.;_ylu=Y29sbwNpcjIEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3BpdnM-?p=elon+musk+harvard+professor+unsolvable+problem&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Elon Musk Harvard Professor Unsolvable Problem at DuckDuckGo. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=elon+musk+harvard+professor+unsolvable+problem&ia=news&iar=news. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?q=elon+musk+harvard+professor+unsolvable+problem&sca_esv=3cef0c337813fef5&source=lnms&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEiTm5uW1q0uNfK7KsnoL8hUg06K347Xr_kWFCjXpD3giPlOu6Ip_C2gm4sgfyGeJGwujJwEDuT0pjPMndqq7CSACzRYwCcd-Ru77rPsMRcR-opyh7qN7BLNitQ9Xx1aBLZW6_ssAAXIGRbPtzkxTgpMvVFXPnCcwNtBAG9YfIHyIUPIcnQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjF05mnocuNAxXN-AIHHab8IKQQ0pQJegQIBxAD&biw=1470&bih=712&dpr=2. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Hive Moderation. https://hivemoderation.com/ai-generated-content-detection. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Inc, Kaniewski Funeral Homes. "Obituary for Dr. Edward Alton (Ed) Kline." Obituary for Dr. Edward Alton (Ed) Kline, https://www.kaniewski.com/obituary/DrEdward-Kline. Accessed 30 May 2025.
People Directory: Stanford Who. https://stanfordwho.stanford.edu/ords/r/regapps/swho/public-people-directory?p24_redirect_search=Edward%20Kline&clear=RR,24&cs=3W_B_aqWwknP7lXWaT98EXvup-mhuifEUmF_nLY6nreGohDPd3jSxmHAY_1tnUqmm3O0rRtXoBvQ-j0LAnbi_VA. Accessed 30 May 2025.
Scholastic Volume 115, No.4 . 7 Nov. 1973, https://archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0115/VOL_0115_ISSUE_0004.pdf.
University, Harvard. "Search." Harvard University, https://www.harvard.edu/search/. Accessed 30 May 2025.
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