Mr Musk, who made his money with Paypal and currently runs Tesla and SpaceX, told her, "Nano applies to everything & therefore means nothing. Definitely indicates bs. Sorry."



He included a link to the Uncyclopedia definition of nanotechnology, which describes it as a "form of bullshit used by advertisement firms to either make people believe their hair/skin products are magical, or to make investors give funding on the impressions a product will contain magical robots".

Uncyclopedia is a satirical website, and defines 'Elon Musk' as a "self-made egomaniac who wants to send cars into space" who supports "the rehoming of gay orphan transgender puppies".

Dr Dickinson said she actually agreed with Uncyclopedia's definition of nanotechnology, when it applied to advertising gimmicks.

"But that doesn't mean it's BS in the science or engineering world - we don't sell magic products, we use science to create novel solutions."