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Elon Musk to Bankrupt Mr. Burns on ‘The Simpsons’

It’s something of a rite of passage for celebrities to appear in the city of Springfield in a yellow-skinned, four-fingered form. Whether they’re playing themselves, as did Sir Paul McCartney or Johnny Carson, or portraying memorable characters like Leon Kompowsky or a talking coyote guiding Homer through a vision quest, anybody who’s anybody has had their turn on the longest-running scripted primetime television series in America. And according to The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean, everybody’s favorite world-changing, car-making, rocket-launching wunderkind is next.

Elon Musk in ep 1/11 and not a “kiss ass” celebrity guest star turn: Burns tries to kill him, and we reveal Musk’s master password. — Al Jean (@AlJean) July 29, 2014

Jean first announced that we will see Elon Musk on The Simpsons on a Comic-Con panel, saying that Musk would be a central character in an episode titled “The Musk Who Fell to Earth.” Bonus points for being able to work in a subtle David Bowie/Nicolas Roeg reference.

Automotive News reports that Jean explained the episode’s premise as consisting of Springfield’s resident nuclear power tycoon/tyrant Mr. Burns being bankrupted by Musk. Burns then attempts to kill Elon Musk for ruining him, at which point it can be logically assumed that a number of hijinks will ensue.

Musk, in name only, appeared previously in an episode of The Simpsons as the name of an ASK Body Spray fragrance. He has also made cameos in the film Iron Man 2 and the masturbatory Johnny Depp vehicle Transcendence. You might also recall that Musk was pulled over for speeding in a Tesla Model S not long ago with Depp in the passenger seat (and Paul Bettany in his lap), which was likely an infinitely more entertaining event than pretty much anything put forth in Transcendence.

Maybe now that the precedent has been set for automotive CEOs to make appearances on The Simpsons, we could now reasonably expect a cameo by Mary Barra, who would stop in only long enough to recall Homer’s accident-prone pink sedan and tell him that they wish they had known more and been able to act faster in issuing corrective action.