Elon Musk: Social Media Saviour or Tech Tyrant?
In 2022, tech titan Elon Musk expanded his empire by acquiring the social media platform twitter and rebranding it X.
Musk’s Twitterverse
Upon creating an account on X, I was required to follow ‘one or more’ accounts to prevent ‘missing out’, with the first suggested account being Elon Musk’s. This forceful nudge to follow the owner of X raises questions about the manipulation of social media by those with power, whether through ownership or large followings, to control perceptions and push their ideologies.
Despite declining to follow Musk’s account, my twitter feed was nevertheless filled by the Musk marketing machine; from further prompts to follow Musk’s personal account and his companies, Space X and Tesla, to tweets from these accounts. Thanks to its algorithm, the entrepreneur is nothing short of omnipresent on this app, even being the app’s most followed person. Tweets from his personal account cover a range of topics, from the harmless like promoting his companies and making immature jokes, to the concerning, like his controversial and unsubstantiated political opinions. Furthermore, these are delivered to X users as verbatim fact, with no moderation or warnings attached.
Musk uses his platform to promote himself as a social media saviour, stating his acquisition of the site was to a safe space where a wide range of beliefs can be ‘debated in a healthy manner’ online, when in reality he has removed safety nets which were previously in place to prevent hate-speech and dangerous content on the app. This does not stop him from frequently criticising and demonising other social media platforms whilst praising his own, aiming to encourage people to use X as their sole form of social media.
Musk’s strategic silence
For an entrepreneur with such a striking social media presence, it is surprising that it exists only within X — outside the twittersphere, typing Musk’s name into social media search bars yields radio silence. He does not have any personal Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok accounts; Musk’s personal opinions are presented to the world solely via X, allowing him full control over how they are communicated and amplified across his site.
Despite this, SpaceX and Tesla have accounts on other platforms featuring sleek, aesthetic, professional posts which present his companies as cutting-edge whilst providing followers with frequent updates on their products and developments. If you had never heard of the billionaire before, these accounts paint a picture of an avant-garde, forward-thinking entrepreneur with a successful technological empire.
Crafting an image
To say Musk’s persona shifts across platforms would be an understatement. Musk’s use of social media allows him to carefully craft a stylish image for his companies across a multitude of platforms to allow for maximal promotion, whilst also allowing for maximum control over how his personal beliefs are communicated by only having a personal account on X. Musk perfectly illustrates the influence social media has in modern society, with people in power being able to manipulate social media platforms to present any image of themselves they wish to millions, and advertise their uncensored beliefs.
