- The cryptocurrency entrepreneurs behind Elon GOAT Token created a sculpture in Musk's honor.
- The 12,000 lb., 30-ft statue of Musk's head on a goat body riding a rocket was delivered to Tesla HQ.
After spending more than $600,000 creating a 30-foot-long, 12,000-pound metal sculpture of Elon Musk's head on a goat's body riding a rocket and delivering it to Tesla headquarters, the cryptocurrency entrepreneurs behind "Goatsgiving" failed to capture the billionaire's attention as they had hoped.
Self-described Musk fan Ashley Sansalone, along with a team of enthusiasts including Alec Wolvert and Richie Latimer, created the statue to promote their cryptocurrency, Elon GOAT Token, and hoped that an acknowledgment from Musk would boost the value of their digital asset.
The head, designed by metal sculptor Kevin Stone in British Colombia, Canada, took nearly six months to bring together, per The Wall Street Journal. The rest of the parts were built in Phoenix, Arizona to speed up construction.
—Elon Goat Token (@ElonGoatToken) November 26, 2022
"We dedicated the statue to (Elon Musk) because he stepped in for crypto at a good point and blew everything up," Latimer told USA Today. "With everything he has done with (cryptocurrencies) Doge and Baby Doge and a few other coins, we decided why not do the same thing, but really go out there and go above and beyond and to bring something to him."
The Musk statue was paraded around Texas for several days before being "delivered" Saturday in Austin outside the Tesla headquarters during an event the creators called "Goatsgiving" that was intended to capture Musk's attention.
By 10 p.m. local time, Musk had still not acknowledged the publicity stunt intended to honor him.
—Elon Goat Token (@ElonGoatToken) November 26, 2022
Representatives for Elon GOAT Token, its founder, Ashley Sansalone, and chief marketing officer, Alec Wolvert, did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
The Elon GOAT Token community on Telegram expressed disappointment that Musk didn't acknowledge the crowd-funded statue bearing his likeness, with some users expressing frustration at the billionaire's lack of response in person or on Twitter, while others speculated Musk was "definitely accepting" the project because Tesla security had not removed the statue from outside its gates.
"We're gonna stay here as long as possible," Wolvert told the Journal. "I even heard some people say they were going to strap themselves to it."
—Elon Goat Token (@ElonGoatToken) November 16, 2022
Musk and representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.