Right-wing activist group Project Veritas released a viral video as part of a series on Twitter last night, which appears to show a purported Twitter employee at a bar calling Elon Musk “mentally handicapped” because the billionaire is on the spectrum.

Twitter executive calling Elon Musk mentally handicapped, "special" and saying he has "aspergers."

This Twitter exec goes on to say that Twitter is "not here to give people free speech" @elonmusk is going to want to see this one too…pic.twitter.com/dQZamaLiC8

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 18, 2022

A twitter exec talking about project veritas undercover stings while in a project veritas undercover sting has to be one of the craziest things ever caught on video.

— thebradfordfile (@thebradfordfile) May 18, 2022

In the video, the Twitter employee, who appears inebriated and seems to believe he is on a date, shares his views on content moderation, saying Twitter is unprofitable “because of ideology” and that Elon Musk’s perspective is unrealistic and impractical.

He then goes on to say Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is ill-advised and Musk is incompetent because he is “special needs” and “has Asperger’s.” Then, he pulls out his phone and shows the Project Veritas staffer an email from Twitter warning employees about efforts by organizations like Project Veritas to entrap and film them.

How many of you saw the new Project Veritas video that was released yesterday? The guy was talking mad shit only to have that last bit of irony at the end. Our reality is better than any TV show out tthere.

— Unequivocal Veteran (@UnequivocalV) May 18, 2022

"You're lucky you met me organically or I would be questioning everything about you" 😂😂😂https://t.co/qykj5oRD8j

— Bongino Report (@BonginoReport) May 17, 2022

Reaction online was largely hostile to both Musk and the Twitter employee. Advocates for people on the spectrum were quick to point out that “Asperger's” is not a favored term, since it finds its origins in Nazi Germany. Others were troubled by the evidence of bias against neurodivergent people at the influential social media company.

I'll let my Aspergers child know she's really a sociopath according to this piece of trash.

Aspergers is a spectrum, like all forms of Autism, and it is by nature very high functioning. pic.twitter.com/lYksunNld7

— 🚛TraderJill (Pronouns: Meme Queen/Your Highness) (@LadyJustice6910) May 18, 2022

I know it’s not the point which is that this lady is wrong and a bigot but aspergers and narcissism often look the same but aren’t. Narcissists don’t care about other perspectives whereas autists struggle to conceive of them. https://t.co/Cb8JxTLIjI

— Phil (@RealPhillyP) May 18, 2022

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
aspergers is not the term !! stop it !!
just say autistic goddamn
and no , elon is not a good representation of us . he fuckn sucks

— puppy prince iduno (@femboyfuji) May 18, 2022

Some argued that Musk should not represent the broader community of people on the spectrum, because his actions are his own and his circumstances very unique.

I see that #aspergers is trending because of Elon Musk. 99.9999999 % of #autistic people will never be selfish asshole billionaires, most are decent people who care about social justice. Musk doesn't speak for us. Don't equate the behavior of Musk to Autism.

— stray autistic cat in an intense world (@obrerx) May 18, 2022

So let me get this shite straight. The right used to make fun of @GretaThunberg because of #Aspergers, but today are defending Elon because of Aspergers?🤯🤬🙈🙉🙊

— The Politics of Star Trek✊🏾🖖🏿 (@punkonbus1701) May 18, 2022

Elon Musk himself replied cryptically toward a tweet sharing the video.

Twitter exec trashing free speech & mocking people with Asperger’s …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022

This comes after a similar "leaked" video of a purported "Twitter senior engineer" went viral Monday night under similar circumstances, which also came from Veritas.

BREAKING: Twitter Senior Engineer says “Twitter Does Not Believe in Free Speech”, admits employees are “Commie as F**k”and they tried to “revolt against” @ElonMusk’s takeover bid.#TwitterExposed pic.twitter.com/PjFWhzicBZ

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 16, 2022

Project Veritas, which has released factually dubious videos in the past, often records undercover footage of targeted people and institutions with the goal of exposing unflattering behavior. The group, which is mostly funded through a secretive charitable fund backed by the Koch brothers, has come under legal scrutiny in the past and been accused of harassment and "gotcha" journalism.

At the moment, Musk’s purchase of Twitter is suspended pending a review of the number of bots on the platform, which Musk wants to know for sure is less than five percent. Many speculate that Musk is using this issue as an excuse to delay the purchase, with the intent of either backing out entirely or renegotiating more favorable terms.