Having completed his US$44bn takeover of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) in late October, Elon Musk looks increasingly set to become the most followed person on the site, ahead of former US president Barack Obama.
Musk, already claiming the title as the world’s richest man, will likely see his Twitter followers surpass 130mln in mid-January based on his current follower growth rate, overtaking Obama in the process to become the first social media chief executive with the most followers on their own site.
Having become up to 76% more active on Twitter since his takeover, according to Social Blade analysts, the chief executive turned influencer has been so involved in the direct running of the company that he previously admitted he had “too much” on his plate.
Wait, if I Tweet does that count as work?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2022
While Musk has been pointing out that Twitter usage and new signups are at all time highs, he himself has been gaining over 0.25mln followers every day over the past year, outlined Social Blade.
Twitter has been wrapped in controversy since Elon Musk took charge last month, with mass job cuts, potential changes to content moderation policies and the reinstating of banned accounts all placing the site in the headlines.
Most recently, Elon Musk has suggested that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is moving to cut its advertising on the social media, further threatening the sites’ main source of revenue.
Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022
Previously, the likes of Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) have all quit advertising payments to the company amid growing controversy, according to civil rights coalition Stop Toxic Twitter.