The US Secret Service said it was "aware" of Elon Musk's social media post in which he said there had been "no attempt" to kill President Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in the upcoming November presidential election.
Mask later deleted this post and said it was a joke.
His post on X, formerly Twitter, came shortly after a suspected assassination attempt was made on Donald Trump at his golf course in Florida on Sunday.
The billionaire is a close ally of Trump, who has vowed to hire Mr Musk to lead a "government efficiency commission" if he wins a second term as US president.
- The suspect in the attack on Trump heard before the court in Florida
- Trump says that Musk could be at the head of the team to control the "efficiency of the government"
- Elon Musk angered the Taiwanese authorities, who told him: "We are not for sale"
- Break in communication: How the conversation between Mask and Trump went
Many users of the social network X criticized Musk's comments, accompanied by a raised eyebrow smiley, with some claiming that it was inciting bigotry against the president and vice president of America.
In a statement, the White House condemned the post, saying that "such speech is irresponsible".
"Violence should be condemned, it should never be supported or joked about," the statement reads, adding that "there is no place for political violence or any violence ever in the country."
When the BBC contacted the US Secret Service, they said only that they were "aware" of the announcement.
"It is our practice not to comment on matters related to intelligence protection,
"However, we can say that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to the people we protect," the statement added.
After the post was deleted, Musk tweeted that he "learned that just because something is funny to a group of friends, doesn't mean it's going to be as funny as a post on X."
"Turns out jokes aren't as funny if people don't know the context," read the next post.
The controversial tech billionaire is considered a close ally of Trump and formally endorsed him after the July 13 assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In that attempt, the suspect fired multiple shots, injuring Trump and killing a rally participant.
Since then, Musk has frequently tweeted or reposted messages criticizing Biden and Harris while supporting Trump.
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