A hand-drawn pencil portrait of Elon Musk, created by X user @djcows and posted with the caption "I hope one day Elon sees my drawing," racked up over 11 million views within 24 hours in February 2026. Users flooded the replies tagging Musk while debating the likeness—some called it rough, while others said it was instantly recognizable.

Musk did see it, but his initial response was to block the artist. @djcows shared a screenshot of the block, which promptly went viral and gained even more traction than the original drawing. The moment briefly became a flashpoint for online debate over whether Musk had overreacted or was simply playing along.

Musk followed up shortly after with a laughing-emoji reply, reigniting the story and triggering a wave of "Melon Musk" memes alongside copycat portraits and doodles from other users. Despite the lighter follow-up, the block was never removed.