The issue of Twitter Inc. users posing as big brands invaded CEO Elon Musk’s personal space on Friday.
The issue of Twitter Inc. users posing as big brands invaded CEO Elon Musk’s personal space on Friday, when a purported Tesla Inc. account, complete with blue checkmark, began posting about the company. of cars he drives.
The account, called Tesla and with the handle @TesIaReal, racked up tens of thousands of likes in an eight-hour spree that tackled the automaker’s safety, share price and solar panels.
One of the most popular posts said: “We will offer 10 thousand vehicles to support the Ukrainian army. Our cars are the most advanced explosive devices on the market,” while another said, “Everyone talks about Twitter burning down, but our cars did that before it was cool.”
While it’s obviously a parody account, and marked as such after Musk warned that the platform would ban those who weren’t “clearly identified” as such, it nonetheless highlights Musk’s issue with brand imposters setting up fake but verified accounts. On Friday he tweeted: “In the future, accounts dedicated to parody must include “parody” in his name, not just in the bio.”
Since offering blue checkmarks to paying subscribers, Twitter has faced a number of phishing issues. An account claiming to be Nintendo Inc. posted an image of Super Mario holding up a middle finger, while another posing as pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. tweeted that insulin was now free, forcing the company to apologize.
The writing can be on the wall for dishonest posters. In an email to Twitter staff on Wednesday, Musk wrote: “For the next few days, the absolute top priority is to find and suspend any verified bot/troll/spam.”
The Tesla imposter, at least, feels the end is near. One post read: “We ride this until it burns out like a Tesla battery.”