Among some: a software developer in San Francisco previously banned from Twitter, a former design student in Germany who now works for Tesla, a psychologist in Dayton, Ohio, and an information-technology worker in India Is.
The people behind a handful of Twitter accounts are Tesla owners, electric-car proponents or investors in the auto maker, if not all three. Users share enthusiastic messages about Tesla vehicles, gossip about other auto makers and organize treks to corporate events.
They also defend Mr. Musk and his companies on stage and through YouTube channels, podcasts and websites. Some have been accused of online harassment by other Twitter users, and, in at least one instance, the community turned against one of its own after the CEO questioned their loyalty.
“The seriousness of this guy and his influence in so many industries is so huge that you just get drawn into it,” said Omar Kazi, jointly run @WholeMarsBlog. People are trying to attack you just to talk to them.”
Mr. Musk, as the world’s richest person and boss of a $1 trillion company, is one of Twitter’s most influential users. He has gained a reputation for posting memes, cursing short sellers and making eyebrow-raising statements, from mocking regulators to making fun of quitting jobs. Last week the Tesla CEO offered to buy shares of Twitter that the company did not own in a deal worth about $43 billion.
According to the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of Twitter data, most of Mr Musk’s Twitter activity consists of replying to other tweets. As of Friday, the Tesla boss has responded to tweets from about 5,700 accounts since June 2009, according to a Journal analysis. Roughly 20 accounts, almost all of which have given explicit support for Mr. Musk and his companies, have received more than a quarter of those replies.
His supporters say Mr. Musk’s public relationship with Tesla fans has fostered a sense of community among investors and customers. Tesla benefits from digital-content creators to help it market its products and avoid spending large sums of money on mass advertising. The company’s referral programs provide customers with free vehicles and other amenities, as well as access to its quick-charging stations.
Mr Musk did not respond to a request for comment. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
Earl Banning, a psychologist in Ohio, is known in the Tesla community for photographing his dogs in the trunk in front of his Model X and for helping popularize the “FrankPuppy” trend. Eventually Mr. Musk and his mother will contribute with him. “Once you’re known as one of the people reacting to Elon, people want to follow you,” said Mr. Banning.
Mr. Banning, whose account @28delayslater has 70,100 followers, has acknowledged Tesla’s influence. He said he logs into Twitter most mornings and then schedules tweets to post throughout the day, many of them reminiscent of Tesla news or Mr.
When the Tesla CEO said on Twitter that his Wikipedia page had gone crazy in December 2019, German college student Vivian Hantsch suggested in a tweet that he joins her, along with Mr. Kazi and others on his Tesla-focused podcast. Discuss what is wrong with it. The group was invited to Mr. Musk’s residence and then a three-hour interview was recorded.
Ms Hantush had about 134,200 followers in December 2021 when she deactivated her account @flcnhvy, even though it was one of the two accounts with the most replies from Mr Musk.
Two screenshots of Tesla’s internal employee directory reviewed by the Journal show Ms. Hantush is listed as an assistant to the CEO. Videos posted online from Tesla’s first European factory opening last month showed Ms Hantush with a group that included German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz and Mr Musk. He did not respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment.
Pranay Pathole, a software engineer from Pune, India, tweeted at least 160 times on the Tesla boss in almost a year before getting a reply. In January 2018, he tweeted about a problem with the windshield wipers turning on when he opened the Tesla car door. Mr Musk replied that the problem “will be fixed in the next release,” in reference to a vehicle software update. Once the tweet came, Mr. Pathole said that he ran to tell his mother and father.
Mr. Pathole now has 125,100 followers on his account @Ppathole, and field requests people to give business ideas to Mr. Musk. He recently asked whether CEOs “would consider building a new social-media platform with an open source algorithm where free speech is given a top priority.” The Tesla chief replied, “I’m seriously looking into it,” and on Thursday he said he would implement those ideas if he was able to keep Twitter private.
Eric Seifert, an independent analyst and owner of Mobile Dev, said, “Musk has an exceptionally savvy command of social media, and he has an army of muskets that he can use to trade any stock, or even cryptocurrency. to behave as a meme stock.” Memo Business Blog.
It took over a decade for Mr Musk to reach 40 million followers on Twitter in November 2020. He achieved the 80 million mark this month.
Around 2018, they increased engagement with individual investors. At the time, Tesla was struggling to increase production to meet the target and capitalize on tax incentives provided for electric-vehicle purchases. There was also a loss.
The investors who held were rewarded. Tesla’s market capitalization crossed the $1 trillion threshold for the first time in October, nearly 30 times higher than in May 2019.
“Originally there were a lot of people, a lot of smart and powerful and well-connected people, betting against Tesla,” said Mr. Kazee, who bought his Tesla Model 3 about five years ago.
He created the account @tesla_truth in November 2018 using a photo of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to convince people that Tesla vehicles are the cars of the future. Mr. Qazi said he frequently tweeted short sellers, telling them he was wrong about Tesla and would lose a lot of money.
Mr Kazi said his account was suspended several times for Mr Jobs and issues such as copyright infringement, and was eventually banned in late 2019.
The account @WholeMarsBlog, which has 59,500 followers and works with many others, posts an average of 148 tweets a day.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, M/s Kazi and Banning sent out dozens of tweets about a news article citing research suggesting that Twitter bots, or automated fake accounts, were being used to promote Tesla.
Two Tesla influencers shared memes mocking the author and researcher, accusing him of being part of a group of Tesla skeptics. “Be honest, are you a bot?” Mr Banning tweeted.
University of Maryland professor David Kirsch, who conducted the research, said he never had a position in or against Tesla stock.
A Tesla owner and investor who connected with Musk on Twitter is no longer receiving a response from the chief executive. In April 2019, Mr Musk called Frederick Lambert of Montreal “truly anti-Tesla” as a result of articles on Electrek, a news gathering website about electric vehicles.
Mr Lambert said at the time, at least 50% of his stock portfolio was Tesla shares, and he owned a Tesla Model S and Model 3. “At first, I thought it was a mistake,” he said. His biggest hero publicly turned on him, and he said that the Tesla community follows their leader.
Mr Lambert said Mr Musk’s use of Twitter has changed over the years and the conversation around Tesla has become polarised. He added that CEOs will only engage with “people who are just extreme promoters.”
Concerns about online harassment within Tesla’s digital community have also led to litigation. Aaron Greenspan, an investor with little interest in Tesla, sued M/s Kazi and Musk in a Northern California federal court in May 2020, alleging defamation and securities infringement, among other claims. Mr Greenspan alleges Mr Kazi harassed him through Twitter, phone calls, websites and texts.
In court filings, lawyers representing M/s Kazi and Musk have said that Mr. Greenspan has not provided sufficient evidence to support his allegations and has filed for the case to be dismissed. Mr. Kazi alleges that Mr. Greenspan has harassed him for years. Mr Greenspan denied the allegation. The trial is going on.
“It’s kind of cool,” said Mr. Kazi, “if you look at the lawsuit, it says ‘Elon Musk and Omar Kazi.'”