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Elon Musk says store-bought tomatoes taste better than home-grown

foodJul 23, 2026241,135

Elon Musk said store-bought tomatoes taste better than home-grown varieties while arguing that future work would be "optional" because robots could do everything, adding that people who grow backyard tomatoes could "just go to the store for better tomatoes." Posts responding to the remark called the claim ignorant and defended home-grown tomatoes as frequently tasting much better, with several commenters citing heirloom tomatoes and BLT sandwiches as examples. One post argued store tomatoes might be superior about 95 percent of the time, while another criticized refrigeration for destroying tomato flavonoids. Other posts offered to grow or share home-grown tomatoes with Musk or suggested throwing tomatoes at him as a retort. The exchange centers on taste and everyday experience rather than a technical dispute, and it prompted personal reactions and taunts in the sampled posts.

Matt Novak
@paleofuture.bsky.social

Another odd moment occurred when Musk insisted that work in the future would be "optional" because robots would do everything. Musk said people might still work in the future but compared it to people who grow their own backyard tomatoes. He said they could just go to the store for better tomatoes.

4276h ago
Quoting this
Garrett M. Graff216

This is all another sign of Joyce Carol Oates’ epic takedown of Elon Musk is fundamentally true. Imagine becoming a gazillionaire and not being able to appreciate that eating a perfect backyard tomato mid-summer is the peak of satisfaction and joy. Elon Musk is bankrupt of joy.

Derek Powazek36

First of all, the average backyard tomato is way better than what you can get at the store. Elon doesn’t know that because he has no friends. Second, I’m growing tomatoes that I would love to share with him at a velocity of my choosing.

Corey Rayburn Yung27

Among all the things Musk does not understand (which are numerous), macroeconomics ranks high on the list. He also insists inflation is only caused by the issuance of new currency.

Willie Muse22

It feels very unfair that we no longer have a social media platform where we can tell him to kill himself

Relevant Ferret If Known15

Spoken like a man who's never had to prepare his own food in his life.

Rosiee Thor11

bro WHAT??????? this man has clearly never tasted joy in his life. homegrown tomatoes are on a whole other level from store bought. Like i didn't even think i LIKED tomatoes until i started growing my own. I know this is like the least important thing he thinks but bro get a grip

Bo Thompson10

As someone in New Jersey, the place most credited with introducing tomatoes to Italian American cuisine: The fuck you say. The only reason I'll tolerate that slander of home plot heirloom tomatoes is because I hope that man's tomatoes are always as watery and soft as store bought.

Kevin Collins9

Among the many reasons this is stupid is my homegrown tomatoes are better than storebought. Also, when is the last time that man went to a grocery store?

Malachite Tigerbunny8

Baby's first post-scarcity, through the lens of someone who is only excited about not having to pay workers, and hasn't thought for a second how those workers are supposed to survive if they don't have an income. No take, only throw.

Elf M. Sternberg5

"Your belief in deliciousness is wrong, citizen. What you taste in a garden tomato is merely an illusion brought on by your time and attention. Game theory says you are experiencing a willful loss-avoidance hallucination, not a true understanding of flavor or value. I am very smart."

Helen Kennedy
@helenkennedy.com

Musk insisting storebought tomatoes are better than homegrown tomatoes is the most perfect distillation of how ignorant he is of daily human life and the small joys therein.

2376h ago