The Fiery Tactics of Elon Musk

Dan van Moll
3 min readDec 21, 2022

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Over the years, Elon Musk has developed a reputation for being outspoken and controversial on Twitter. His tweets have been known to cause significant fluctuations in the stock market, and he has been criticized for using the platform to make baseless claims or attack his critics. Some have even noticed a “Trumpification” of Elon Musk, comparing his behavior to that of former President Donald Trump, who was known for his combative and divisive tweets while in office.

So, what strategies might Musk be using to behave like Trump on Twitter? Here are a few possibilities:

  1. Playing to his audience: Both Musk and Trump are known for their ability to connect with their followers on a personal level. They both have a knack for understanding what their audience wants to hear and for using social media to speak directly to them.
  2. Using Twitter as a megaphone: Both have used Twitter as a way to amplify their voices and get their message out to a wider audience. They both have millions of followers on the platform, which gives them a significant platform to spread their views.
  3. Stoking controversy: Both have been known to court controversy on Twitter, often making statements that are designed to provoke a strong reaction. This can be a effective way to grab attention and create headlines, but it can also be a risky strategy that can backfire.
  4. Attacking critics: Both Musk and Trump have a history of using Twitter to attack their critics and those who disagree with them. This can be a way to deflect criticism and deflect attention from negative news, but it can also fuel further conflict and alienate potential allies. Both have gathered some type of follower-army they can direct towards potential targets like most recently Yoel Roth and Anthony Fauci.
  5. Increasing daily active users: One aspect of Musk’s social media presence that has garnered significant attention is his use of provocative tweets to increase his daily active users. These tweets, which often contain controversial or divisive content, have proven to be extremely effective at driving engagement and attracting new followers.

There are a few reasons why Musk’s provocative tweets are so successful at increasing activity. First, they tend to generate a strong emotional response in his followers, whether it be excitement, anger, or something in between. This emotional response leads to higher levels of engagement, as people are more likely to share, comment, and like a tweet that elicits a strong emotional reaction. Second, Musk’s tweets often garner media attention, which leads to increased visibility for his social media accounts. This visibility can attract new followers who may not have heard of Musk or his companies before, but are now interested in learning more about him and his work. Finally, Musk’s provocative tweets often spark debates and discussions online, which can further increase engagement and attract new followers. These discussions can range from serious discussions about important topics to more lighthearted debates about the latest news or trends or simply posting about popular buzz-topics like “Elden Ring” becoming Game of the Year.

It is difficult to say with certainty whether Elon Musk’s Twitter strategy has backfired or not, as the success or failure of a social media strategy can depend on a variety of factors and can be subjective. Musk’s Twitter strategy has certainly garnered significant attention and engagement, and has helped him to attract a large following on the platform. However, his tweets have also been known to be controversial or divisive, and some people may view his use of provocative content as problematic or unethical. In some cases, Musk’s tweets have sparked backlash or negative media attention, which could be seen as a failure of his social media strategy. For example, in 2018, Musk faced criticism and backlash after he tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private and had secured funding to do so, which turned out to be false. This incident led to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and resulted in Musk being fined and forced to step down as Tesla’s chairman.

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Dan van Moll

Journalist, writer, former war photographer, TED member, geek dad, child of the 70s and curator of pop-culture.