What did Green Day say about Elon Musk? Legendary rock band swap lyrics of hit song to mock Tesla CEO

The band’s frontman Billie Joe Armstrong reportedly switched a line in their 2004 hit “American Idiot” from “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” to “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda.” According to Billboard, the California punk band were making their first appearance in the country when they performed at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium on January 19.

The show was part of the Calabash 2025 festival, which saw Green Day headline alongside The Offspring and local group Fokofpolisiekar. The day after Green Day’s performance, Musk made headlines around the world when he was accused of giving a “Nazi salute” during an inauguration celebration for Donald Trump.

Musk shocked many - including those watching at Washington DC's Capital One Arena - when he put his hand on his chest, then stretched out his arm with an open hand. To many it appeared Musk had performed a fascist salute - familiar to most from their use by the Nazis in reverence to Adolf Hitler. Many interpreted it as resembling the Nazi "Sieg Heil" salute.

He posted the video of his speech on X, formerly Twitter, with one user responding saying: “That was definitely a Nazi salute. Big fan of Tesla. Skeptical of Elon. But that was the most awkward thing I’ve seen no matter how excited he was”.

This is not the first time Green Day have made a lyrical change to “American Idiot.” At a New Year’s Eve performance in 2023, the band took the stage at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and changed the line to: “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda.”

The change upset Musk at the time, who tweeted: “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.” In response, Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt told Rolling Stone: “Elon Musk actually is the machine. I can’t take anything else from that. He’s not shy about saying stupid s*** on the internet. Whatever.”

The bassist added that the group was glad the switch-up ignited a conversation among those who watched the performance, explaining how the band have previously wanted to release political songs but chose not to do so during the first Trump administration. Musk has not yet responded to Green Day’s most recent lyrical change.