'We will gut you': Indiana man charged with making online threats to Elon Musk

HARRISON COUNTY, Indiana - An Indiana man charged with making threats to Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk on the social media platform, X, told authorities he was doing it for attention.

The backstory:

Indiana State Police arrested 28-year-old David Cherry on Tuesday after authorities in Texas contacted them about an X handle that was making threats towards Musk.

Authorities in Indiana said they located Cherry in Clarksville, Indiana, where he was arrested without incident.

Detectives said when they searched Cherry's southern Indiana home they found an AR-15-style rifle, a handgun, ammunition and a ballistic vest that were confiscated.

Accused social media threats against Musk

In an affidavit filed Thursday in Harrison County, Indiana Superior Court, investigators identified several posts made on social media platform X under the username @effective_pawn.

The first post identified in the affidavit was on Dec. 6, 2024 when the account replied to a post by Musk with: "We're gunning you down, next Muskrat."

The account then responded to a video featuring social media influencer Andrew Tate on Jan. 22, 2025, saying "I've got enough bullets for his b---- a-- and all the rest of you manchildren."

The account responded twice to posts made by Musk on Feb. 3, 2025, telling him: "You've broken the law. You're on the hit list."

Later that day, the account replied to a post with: "You're robbing the American people. We will gut you and parade your corpse through the streets."

In a post dated Feb. 16, 2025, the account posted, "I am going to plant a bomb in Elon Musk's house."

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., center, holds a chainsaw gifted to him by Javier Milei, Argentina's president, not pictured, during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, US, on Thursday, F

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Cherry told police he was trying to be ‘edgy’

Indiana police were able to use a cell phone "ping" to find Cherry's location, the affidavit states.

Police said they were able to find Cherry working at a Batteries Plus in Clarksville, Indiana, where he was arrested.

During a police interview, Cherry said he made the posts to be "edgy" and get a reaction from people, the affidavit states. He said he was trying to get attention.

What's next:

Cherry was charged with Level 5 felony Intimidation. He was given a $2,500 cash bond during an initial appearance in court Friday and has been released.

Court records show Cherry has two pre-trial hearings set for March 24, 2025, and July 21, 2025. A jury trial has been scheduled for Aug. 19, 2025.