Elon Musk will host 'Saturday Night Live' on May 8th

Why a tech CEO?

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Elon Musk has had more than one unusual media appearance (just ask Joe Rogan fans), but his latest might top them all. Variety reports that Musk will host NBC's Saturday Night Live on May 8th. No, his partner Grimes won't be the musical guest — that role goes to Miley Cyrus.

It's not certain what prompted SNL to book the Tesla Technoking, although his companies' recent achievements might help. SpaceX just launched its second crewed operational mission, and Tesla is currently the electric car maker to beat. Musk also has a tendency to grab the spotlight, for good or for bad. He'll skew the price of Bitcoin, but he'll also get into fights with the SEC or a heroic cave diver.

Suffice it to say this is new territory for the show. SNL has had business hosts before, including NBC's own Brandon Tartikoff in 1983 and Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in 1990, but it hasn't had a tech CEO step up until now. The question, of course, is whether or not he'll be as entertaining as the actors and other entertainment figures that usually host episodes. While he stands a better chance than many tech execs given his outsized personality, he's certainly not a trained actor with years of experience.