The issue of Twitter users impersonating big brands encroached on CEO Elon Musk’s personal space on Friday when a purported Tesla account, with blue verification check marks, started posting about his car company.
The account, named Tesla and bearing the handle @TesIaReal, racked up tens of thousands of likes in an eight-hour spree that touched on the carmaker’s safety, stock price and solar panels.
One of the most popular posts reads: “We will be offering 10 thousand vehicles to support the Ukrainian military. Our cars are the most advanced explosive devices on the market,” while another said: “Everyone’s talking about Twitter going up in flames but our cars did that before it was cool.”
While obviously a parody account — and marked as such after Musk warned the platform would ban those not “clearly identified” as being so — it highlights Musk’s problem with brand impostors setting up fake-but-verified accounts.
On Friday he tweeted: “Going forward, accounts engaged in parody must include 'parody' in their name, not just in bio.”
Since offering paying subscribers blue check marks, Twitter has faced a host of impersonation problems. One account claiming to be Nintendo posted an image of Super Mario holding up a middle finger, while another posing as pharma giant Eli Lilly and Company tweeted that insulin was now free — forcing the company to issue an apology.
The writing may be on the wall for rogue posters. In an email to Twitter staff on Wednesday, Musk wrote: “Over the next few days, the absolute top priority is finding and suspending any verified bots/trolls/spam.”
The Tesla impostor, at least, senses the end is near. One post stated: “We ride this til it combusts like a Tesla battery.”
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