Giant Elon Musk head sculpted by B.C. artist part of crypto stunt making international headlines
When a B.C. metal artist was asked to create a giant sculpture with Elon Musk's head on the body of a goat riding a rocket he had no idea who would want to create such a thing or why.
Kevin Stone, who is from Chilliwack, says he was first approached by a designer from California about the massive project last year.
"I thought it was a pretty strange request," he tells CTV News.
"At the time, I didn't know who I was doing the project for. And initially, I actually thought it was Elon."
Stone and his wife estimated sculpting the 50-foot-long chimera would take more than a year. That timeline didn't work for the mystery client, so after some negotiations, Stone committed to making the billionaire's head.
The finished product is about six feet tall by four feet wide, made out of eight-inch thick aluminum and weighing in at over 200 pounds. It took six months to complete.
"I thought it was such a crazy project. I mean, who builds a giant Elon goat riding a rocket. But it was actually a really good learning experience. And a fun project to build. We had a great time building it," Stone says.
And the client? Stone says when it came time to sign the contract he learned it was destined to be part of a marketing stunt for a cryptocurrency company called Elon GOAT.
"They asked me initially if I was interested in crypto, and to be honest with you, I didn't even know what crypto was," Stone recalls.
"And I said, 'No, I only accept cash.'"
The finished head was shipped to the U.S. and the finished sculpture – which was mounted to a trailer hooked up to hydraulics, and equipped with a fuel system that allows the rocket to shoot fire – was dropped off at Tesla’s Giga factory in Austin last weekend. The company says the total cost was $600,000.
Since then, it has made international headlines.
The initial plan was for the stunt to take place over the summer, but there were delays. Ultimately, Stone says the timing, which corresponds with Musk's controversial moves since taking over Twitter, has led to even more publicity.
"I'm thrilled. I mean for me, it was a good commission. It was a great challenge to try to create. And then on top of that, I've had nothing but positive publicity for it," Stone says.
"It's been thrilling for me. It brings more awareness to my artwork, so it's been fantastic."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Spencer Harwood
Photo submitted by Kevin Stone.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.