Elon Musk’s Alien Hunt Promise Sparks Space Race Frenzy, NASA Flooded with Aspiring Astronauts

Cape Canaveral, FL – In an unexpected twist that has sent shockwaves through the scientific community, tech mogul Elon Musk’s latest Twitter proclamation has inadvertently sparked a modern-day space race. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO tweeted late Tuesday night, “First person to find conclusive evidence of alien life gets a free Tesla. Any model. Autopilot included.” Within hours of Musk’s tweet, NASA found itself inundated with applications from hopeful space explorers, ranging from seasoned astrophysicists to enthusiastic flat-earthers armed with tinfoil hats and homemade telescopes. Dr. Astrid Cosmos, head of NASA’s Extraterrestrial Research Division, spoke to reporters outside the agency’s headquarters. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” she said, gesturing to the mountain of resumes piling up behind her. “Our inbox crashed within the first hour. We’ve had to requisition three additional servers just to handle the influx of applications.” Sources within NASA reveal that the agency has received over 500,000 applications in the past 24 hours alone. “We’ve got everyone from Nobel laureates to a guy who claims he can communicate with aliens through his dental fillings,” said an anonymous NASA employee. “It’s absolute chaos.” The sudden surge of interest has not been without its challenges. NASA’s Human Resources department reported several cases of applicants attempting to bribe their way onto space missions. “One gentleman offered us his entire Pokemon card collection in exchange for a seat on the next Mars rover,” said HR representative Janet Starman. “We had to politely decline, even though I must admit, that holographic Charizard was tempting.” Musk, seemingly unfazed by the pandemonium he has caused, doubled down on his offer in a follow-up tweet: “And if you find a whole alien civilization, I’ll throw in a Cybertruck. Might need it for interplanetary road trips, you know.” The scientific community has had mixed reactions to Musk’s unconventional approach to space exploration. Dr. Neil Parsec of the International Astronomical Union commented, “While we appreciate Mr. Musk’s enthusiasm, we’re concerned that this might lead to a lot of false positives. We’ve already had three reports of ‘alien life’ that turned out to be particularly shiny weather balloons.” Meanwhile, car dealerships across the country have reported a surge in telescope sales, with many would-be alien hunters apparently planning to conduct their searches from their own backyards. “We’ve sold more telescopes in the last two days than in the entire past year,” said Jerry Hubble, owner of Stargazers R Us in Roswell, New Mexico. “I’ve had to start a waiting list.” As the frenzy continues, some enterprising individuals have taken a different approach. Local conspiracy theorist Chuck Nebula claims he’s already won the contest. “I’ve been in contact with aliens for years,” Nebula insisted, adjusting his tinfoil hat. “I’ve got a whole garage full of proof. Now, where do I pick up my Tesla?” NASA has issued a statement urging calm and reminding the public that space exploration requires years of training and education. However, they did add a postscript: “But if you do happen to spot any little green men, please do let us know. We’ve always wanted a Cybertruck in the parking lot.” As of press time, Musk had not responded to requests for comment, but his Twitter feed showed he was busy designing “cool alien-proof windows” for the Tesla Cybertruck, just in case.