Elon Musk’s activity on the social media platform X, previously recognized as Twitter, draws the attention of influential leaders, his massive number of 206 million followers, and market movers. Since Musk’s acquisition of the platform in 2022, his postings have exceeded a count of 60,000. Initially, Musk’s focus on the platform had been sharing humorous content and updates related to his ventures since 2009. However, his posting trends have now transformed, covering diverse topics from politics, corporate developments to media affairs.
Musk, who dons multiple hats as X’s CEO, earth’s wealthiest individual, and part of the incoming Trump administration, has a profound impact. His seemingly casual commentary on X holds immense significance and is perceived with gravity. For instance, his humor-filled suggestion about acquiring the news channel MSNBC sparked an unfounded rumor that an anchor from the network had a tearful breakdown, despite the fact that the channel is not up for acquisition.
The influence of Musk’s posts on X is palpable. It is surprising how a few moments spent in crafting a simple post has the potential to dictate online trends and influence financial assets’ valuation. Musk’s regular ridicule of traditional defense mechanisms like the F-35 fighter jets is a case in point, where his shared posts led to results that transcended the realm of mere social media engagement.
In a recent event, Musk took a dig at the F-35 fighter jet while sharing a video of advanced drone swarms, referring to them as the obsolete creations of ‘idiots’. The aftershocks of his statements reverberated through the financial markets as stocks of US defense contractors involved in the jet’s development saw a sudden downturn. Lockheed Martin’s stocks dipped by 3.75%, followed by Northrop Grumman, witnessing a 2.3% decline, marking a four-month low for these entities, as reported by Investor’s Business Daily.
Musk’s influence extends to the realm of cryptocurrencies. His engagement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led to a speculative surge in the Dogecoin’s market capitalization. Dogecoin, often linked with Musk and known for its meme-like reputation, saw a substantial increase in its value after his endorsement on X.
Prior to the public announcement of Musk’s involvement with DOGE at 6 AM, Dogecoin held a near $53 billion in market capitalization. Following Musk’s endorsement posts on X, its market value escalated to approximately $62.8 billion by 10 a.m. on the same day, as reported by CoinMarketCap. The market cap continues to fluctuate, with the value stabilizing around $59 billion by the following Wednesday afternoon.
Despite Musk’s immense influence and sizable subscriber base, his activities on X continue to remain under the scanner of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). This habit dates back to his posts regarding Tesla, his electric vehicle enterprise, which the SEC had asked Musk to handle with more caution, following a controversial post back in 2018.
The trouble began when Musk made a post stating his intentions of ‘taking Tesla private at $420’ and assured without full evidence that funding was secured. SEC interjected at this point, citing that Musk’s postings were manipulated and had the potential to inorganically inflate Tesla’s stock prices.
In response to this disagreement with the SEC, Musk reached a middle-ground by paying a fine of $20 million, resigning from his position as chairman, and consenting to get lawyer approval for his future posts about Tesla. Despite these restrictions, Musk continued to voice his opinions about Tesla on X, reaffirming his unfiltered and audacious presence on the platform.
Musk’s posts have repeatedly demonstrated the power to manipulate stock prices. A distinct example of this is when he opined that Tesla’s stocks were overvalued in 2020. As a result, the stock prices plummeted by 10% on the day following the controversial post.
Musk’s growing interest in various business sectors is clearly evident in his insightful posts on X. His interest in Etsy, the e-commerce behemoth that thrives on the sale of vintage and handmade products, is one such instance. He made a post expressing his admiration for the brand, stating ‘I kinda love Etsy’, which resulted in the company’s stock experiencing an 8% surge temporarily.
Even Musk’s cryptic posts have shown to create considerable influence on the market, especially in the realm of cryptocurrencies. His post in 2021, captioned ‘In retrospect, it was inevitable’, with an added hashtag ‘#bitcoin’ in his X platform’s bio, had an immediate impact.
The post was enough to set the Bitcoin valuations soaring, which had been relatively calm until then. The cryptocurrency experienced a near 20% upswing following Musk’s cryptic but potent post, underlining his sheer influence over the online community and financial markets.