Elon Musk Buys North Springs

"Elon Musk Buys North Springs" is the fourth episode in the twenty-seventh season of North Springs. The episode, which is the 389th overall, was directed by Don Grayman and written by Grayman and Rob Farlane.

The episode revolves around North Springs citizens' new lives now that the town has been purchased by, who killed Mayor Parknoise to purchase North Springs.

The episode's plot was largely inspired by, which was announced six days prior to the episode's broadcast, while also commenting on Internet culture, monopoly, and multimillionaires' reckless spending.

The episode premiered on TBS on May 5, 2022, and is rated TV-14-LV in the United States. It was well-received, and most of the episode's praise was aimed at its humor, consistent storytelling, and social commentary.

Plot
Following the events of "An Evening with Elon Musk", Big Eddie—who rigged the and won under the alias Ernesto Costaverde—moves into his new mansion in nearby. He is joined by business partner Neptune Vazquez, posing as a butler named ; and girlfriend Carlota Suarez, posing as Ernesto's fiancée Lucinda Fox. The two finally begin plotting their scheme to murder Stan Mackiewicz, who stole and ultimately destroyed Big Eddie's motorcycle in the previous episode.

Meanwhile in North Springs, the town's citizens are going insane upon finding out that wants to buy North Springs, as they free he will change the its laws to fit his own needs. David and Lisa Briggs attempt to reassure the townspeople that Musk does not have enough power to purchase an entire town, let alone change its laws. However, hysteria continues, and vandalism and looting see a sharp increase in frequency. Ben, Philly, and Makowski discover that Musk is serious about buying their town, and they want to go to the North Springs Town Hall to ensure that Musk does not buy North Springs. Deciding the three of them are not enough to make the local government change its mind, they go to Tommy's house and question if he wants to come help them stop Elon Musk once and for all. Tommy decides to stay home, claiming that there is nothing a bunch of random kids can do about the matter. However, Ben claims Tommy is just "salty because Smacking: The Movie was a huge failure".

Later, when the boys come to the Town Hall, the entrance is blocked by signs promoting new products, as well as a mob of infuriating protesters, one of whom tells the kids they are going to " this joint". As people begin breaking in through the windows, Mayor MacBride quickly packs some bags and flees the building, hopping into an and telling the driver to "head straight to ".

Before the armed protestors can cause any actual harm, Ben manages to stop the crowd, and then gives a speech about how violence will not solve their problems, and the only way to prevent Elon Musk from taking the deed to the town is to peacefully protest around the building. But shortly before Ben ends his speech, a seemingly traumatized MacBride quickly returns, the SUV now severely damaged and graffiti-coated, and hands the deed of the town to Musk. However, MacBride is suddenly shot in the chest and killed by Big Eddie, who mistook him for Stan Mackiewicz as he is also "some skinny, brown-haired White dude". The townspeople run away almost immediately, and MacBride continues to gasp for help as nobody arrives. His eyes eventually close as his crying comes to a stop, effectively ending the episode.

Critical reception
Bryan Causter with OEN gave the "Elon Musk Buys North Springs" a 4/5 rating, praising its allusion to Musk's acquisition of Twitter but criticizing its rushed ending that "leaves so many loose threads tied up", including whether or not MacBride will be dead for the rest of the season. (The show's story always "resets" itself after each season is over.)

eek.net's Morgan Learen praised the episode's "brilliant lampooning of Elon Musk" and noted that the ending actually ties into the rest of the episode's story in an "impressively subtle manner"; he gave the episode an A+ rating overall. Spencer Rickton of Media Geek gave it a 2/4, stating that the way "An Evening with Elon Musk" ended "definitely warranted a sequel... just not this one". He also criticized its ending, as well as its attempts to "squeeze" the into its satire, only to "fail painfully and miserably".