Elon Musk Lookalike Chef in China Becomes Internet Star

48-year-old Ma Jianpin, living in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, China, has gained massive fame on social media due to his striking resemblance to Elon Musk.

Ma Jianpin works as a chef and partner at a local barbecue restaurant. According to reports, he has been in this industry for over a decade. A few years ago, friends and customers already pointed out his resemblance to Musk, but it only recently went viral on the internet.

On July 26, 2026, a customer visiting the restaurant accidentally filmed him and posted the video on social media. The video went viral in a short time, gathering over 800,000 likes. Following this, many users jokingly began calling him the 'Chinese Fried Musk'.

As his popularity grew, the number of people coming specifically to take pictures with Ma Jianpin also increased. He stated that he was a bit excited about suddenly finding himself in the spotlight. Nevertheless, he took the situation calmly, stating that his main goal is to provide for his family.

Interestingly, internet users are even jokingly suggesting changing the restaurant's name to 'SpaceX Barbecue'.