Did Elon Musk Undergo Plastic Surgery? Tesla CEO's 'Mounjaro Face' Transformation Exposed

Elon Musk's changing appearance is fuelling fresh speculation over whether the Tesla chief executive has had plastic surgery, after side by side photos shared online drew attention to what critics have called his 'Mounjaro face' following significant weight loss between 2021 and 2025.

Musk has spoken publicly about trying to slim down since 2022, when he said he had dropped around 30 pounds in a relatively short period. He linked that change to lifestyle adjustments and prescription GLP-1 drugs, the class of medication that includes Ozempic and Mounjaro. The latest focus, however, is less about the weight itself and more about the effect it appears to have had on his face.

How Elon Musk's 'Mounjaro Face' Entered The Chat

The renewed attention follows a wave of widely shared comparison images placing photographs of Musk from 2021 alongside more recent pictures from 2025. In the later shots, the Tesla and SpaceX boss appears noticeably leaner, with sharper facial contours and much less fullness around his cheeks and jaw.

According to a Nicki Swift report, Musk now appears to show several features commonly associated online with the term 'Ozempic face,' a broad label used for the gaunter or more hollow look some people develop after substantial and often rapid weight loss linked to GLP-1 drugs. In Musk's case, his cheeks appear more sunken, the area around his eyes looks deeper set, and there seems to be looser skin around his mouth than in earlier photographs.

Those visible changes have prompted speculation across celebrity and social media circles about fillers, skin tightening or other cosmetic procedures. There is, however, no evidence in the reporting to support claims that Musk has undergone plastic surgery, and he has not said that he has. Any suggestion of surgical intervention remains unconfirmed.

Musk's Weight Loss and the Mounjaro Link

What Musk has confirmed is his use of weight loss medication. After suggesting in 2022 that GLP-1 drugs had helped him slim down, he appeared to lean into the public fascination in his usual blunt style.

In December 2024, he posted a Christmas-themed photo to X, formerly Twitter, showing off his trimmer frame in a festive setting. He captioned it 'Ozempic Santa,' a reference to the most widely known GLP-1 brand. But in follow-up posts, Musk said he had actually had a bad experience with Ozempic.

He claimed the drug 'made me fart & burp like Barney from the Simpson's,' before adding that he had moved to rival medication Mounjaro instead. 'Mounjaro Santa,' he joked, simply did not have the same ring to it.

The tone may have been light, but the point was clear enough. Musk was openly connecting his slimmer appearance to medication, and seemed largely unbothered by the harsher facial lines that now appear more visible in recent photographs.

Workaholism, Fasting And A Body Under Pressure

Away from the online chatter, Musk has also spoken candidly about how he put on weight in the first place. On the Full Send podcast in 2022, he described a punishing routine in which he woke up, reached straight for his phone and immediately dealt with overnight messages and problems from his companies.

Because he runs both Tesla and SpaceX, there was always something demanding attention. He said that basic self-care, including water, breakfast and exercise, often slipped down the list, and that this helped him 'pack on the pounds.'

He also spoke about wanting to introduce a morning workout, though it is unclear from the reporting whether that became a regular habit. What he did confirm was a deliberate shift in his eating pattern. In August 2022, he told followers he had been 'fasting periodically & feel healthier,' and mentioned the intermittent fasting app Zero as a tool he was using.

Those changes appear to have coincided with his move on to GLP-1 medication, combining appetite suppression with stricter eating windows. The result is visible in recent photographs: Musk looks markedly leaner, but also more drawn than he did a few years ago.

Even after losing weight, however, Musk did not appear to abandon the work habits he once blamed for his physical decline. In July 2025, he wrote that he was 'back to working 7 days a week and sleeping in the office if my little kids are away.' He paired that with a video in which he reflected on the strain of that pace, admitting: 'It hurts my brain and my heart.'

Nothing in the available reporting confirms that Musk has had plastic surgery. For now, the sharper angles and hollowed cheeks that have prompted talk of a 'Mounjaro face' appear more closely linked to rapid weight loss, fasting and stress than to any confirmed cosmetic procedure.