Elon Musk Says Two 'Homicidal Maniacs’ Have Tried To Assassinate Him

Elon Musk doesn't want to end up like John Lennon ... and he's paranoid one of his fans will try to kill him, just like the slain Beatles singer.

The Tesla honcho opened up at a recent shareholder meeting about precautions he's needed to take since his notoriety has skyrocketed in recent years -- more so than even before -- and EM claims that at least two "homicidal maniacs" have already attempted to take his life.

Elon says he's probably on someone's hit list because he's so famous ... and with the world getting "a little crazy these days" he says it's entirely possible someone tries to assassinate him ... a la Lennon.

Specifically, Elon says two people in the last seven months came to Tesla to try and off him. Elon says there wasn't one specific issue and "they were just in the homicidal maniac career."

As a result, Elon says he needs to start working out more to protect himself ... and he says that's why he's being more guarded in public and cutting back on autographs, etc.

It's not what Elon would ideally want -- he says he'd love to be more free-wheeling in public -- but because folks have gone to extremes ... he's gotta get the shield up.