Say goodbye to cookies and candy canes. This holiday season, Elon Musk is calling himself “Ozempic Santa.”
Adorned in a Santa suit in a photo posted to X, the Tesla founder indicates he’s taking one of the widely popular weight-loss drugs, known as GLP-1s, which are prescribed for those with Type 2 diabetes and obesity under brand names such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Zepbound.
Musk clarifies in his post on X: “Technically, Mounjaro, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it.” (Mounjaro (tirzepatide), manufactured by Fortune 500 firm Eli Lilly & Co., is used to improve blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes.) In a comment on X, Musk says he had originally tried Ozempic (semaglutide), made by Fortune 500 Europe company Novo Nordisk, but experienced side effects that prompted him to switch brands.
Ozempic Santa pic.twitter.com/7YECSNpWoz
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2024
Musk has been a vocal fan of weight-loss drugs. “Nothing would do more to improve the health, lifespan, and quality of life for Americans than making GLP inhibitors super low cost to the public,” he wrote on X earlier this month. “Nothing else is even close.”
However, with drug shortages and high prices, access remains a problem, in part because many who do not qualify for the drugs have sought them out anyway—including public figures eager to show off their slimmer physiques.
RFK Jr.’s stance on weight-loss drugs
This comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has shared his disapproval of the drugs’ popularity.
“They’re counting on selling it to Americans because we’re so stupid and so addicted to drugs,” the nominee said to Fox News in a video that has since been posted to his Instagram. To “Make America Healthy Again”—the slogan leading RFK Jr.’s agenda—means regulating the food industry and backing away from prescribed drugs, he says.
Doctors have criticized Kennedy’s views on Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs, saying they’re based on stigma and shaky evidence.
It will be a contentious debate, as two of the voices elevated by the president-elect express differences of opinion on the main stage. Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, has been tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), although a new federal department must be approved by Congress.
Musk’s and Kennedy’s divergent views cast deeper uncertainty on the future of weight-loss drugs in America.
Ozempic, which costs more than $900 per month on average without insurance, could be covered by Medicare and Medicaid if Trump backs a $35 billion Biden proposal.
For more on weight management:
- Zepbound vs. Wegovy: New clinical trial says this weight-loss medication sheds more pounds
- Most Americans who want to lose weight don’t want to take GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, new survey says
- The 5 biggest weight loss myths that ‘need to die,’ according to an obesity doctor
- GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are all the rage—but people are quitting them too fast to achieve meaningful weight loss, finds 170,000-patient study
- Exclusive: The COO of Hims & Hers was the third person to try their new weight loss drugs—and she’s ready to share her story
