Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and Twitter’s new boss, has now become the most-followed person on Twitter, surpassing former US President Barack Obama. As of this writing, Musk boasts 133,091,575 followers, while Obama has 133,042,221 followers on the popular social media platform.
Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for a staggering $44 billion last year likely played a significant role in his meteoric rise in followers. After reaching 100 million followers in June, Musk’s numbers have continued to grow steadily. In comparison, Obama primarily uses his Twitter account for professional purposes, such as advocating for important causes or highlighting his accomplishments during his presidency.
Musk is known for posting random and occasionally controversial tweets, as well as using his account to announce various changes to all the companies that he owns. Moreover, Musk also use polls to gauge his followers’ opinions on significant decisions, such as whether or not to allow former President Donald Trump back on the platform or if Elon Musk should step down as CEO of Twitter.
Talking about the most-followed people on Twitter, celebrities like Justin Bieber and Katy Perry hold the third and fourth most-followed positions on the platform.
Since Musk took over as Twitter’s CEO, the platform has undergone several radical changes. His vision for “Twitter 2.0” began with the dismissal of the former CEO, Parag Agrawal, and other senior executives. Subsequently, he implemented various changes to the company’s work culture, requiring employees to adapt to challenging working conditions.
About five months after acquiring Twitter, Musk stated that the company’s value had fallen to less than half of what he initially paid, plummeting to an estimated $20 billion. This revelation came despite his efforts to reshape the company’s direction and culture since taking charge on October 27, 2022.
For Twitter users, the most notable change has been the introduction of Twitter Blue, a subscription service that allows individuals to purchase a coveted blue verification tick for a fee. In India, the blue tick can be acquired for Rs 900 per month on iOS and Android devices or Rs 630 on the Twitter web. Accounts that were verified before Musk’s takeover are referred to as having a “legacy blue tick,” which will be removed beginning April 1. Users will need to subscribe to Twitter Blue if they wish to remain verified. This decision reflects Elon Musk’s apparent disdain for the legacy verification system and his eagerness to overhaul Twitter’s features.
