Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump have been roundly rebuked by The Matrix co-creator Lilly Wachowski, after they referenced one of the film’s most iconic scenes.

On Sunday (May 17), SpaceX boss Musk cryptically posted on Twitter: “Take the red pill.”

He offered no explanation for the tweet, but it is widely believed to reference his vocal criticism of California’s coronavirus response – having previously defied shutdown orders to open his Tesla manufacturing plant.

Responding directly to the tweet, Ivanka Trump wrote: “Taken!”

Fuck both of you

— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) May 17, 2020

Their response then provoked the ire of Wachowski herself, who wrote: “Fuck both of you”. She went on to encourage donations to a LGBTQIA support centre in Los Angeles.

Musk’s original tweet references the iconic scene when Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) tells Keanu Reeves’ Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves) that he has been living his normal life in a computer simulation. Anderson is then offered a stark choice: Take the blue pill and return to normality or take the red pill to enter the simulation.

As ConsequenceOfSound reports, the phrase has since been adopted by online right-wing groups and a misogynistic subreddit.

It comes after production began on The Matrix 4 earlier this year. Directed by Lana Wachowski, the fourth instalment in the franchise sees Reeves returning alongside the likes of Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) and Jada Pinkett Smith (Niobe).

Meanwhile, Musk and Grimes welcomed their first child together earlier this month.