Billionaire and Tesla CEO sees his influence growing beyond business and tech.
Elon Musk is the world’s richest man, with a fortune estimated at $288 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He is also one of the most important influencers on social media, and in particular on Twitter, of which he recently became the largest shareholder and a member of the board. The tech tycoon at last check had more than 80.5 million Twitter followers. It’s more than top athletes like Lebron James (51.1 million followers).
Musk is also the CEO of ‘it’ companies.
Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report, the maker of premium electric vehicles, is on a mission to save humanity from pollution and revolutionize transportation. SpaceX is one of the main players in the conquest of space. Musk is working on one the humanoid robots into which we can transfer our memory and download our personalities.
In popular culture, the billionaire is one of the evangelists of crypto, especially dogecoin. Each of his tweets about the meme coin has the potential to influence its price. Musk even had the honor of hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
Peace or Deny?
To summarize, Musk needs no introduction.
It is therefore quite natural that one would expect the billionaire not to care about speculation about him. But that’s misunderstanding Musk, who not only doesn’t play by the rules, he challenges them, pushes them around and tests them.
So when a rumor started circulating recently on social media saying that Musk, 50, was refused entry to Berghain, one of Berlin’s most prestigious nightclubs, the executive wanted to put the dots on the i’s.
“They wrote PEACE on the wall at Berghain! I refused enter,” Musk posted on his favorite social media platform.
He continued a few hours later.
“Peace. Peace? I hate the word,” Musk explained. “Those who do care about peace (myself aspirationally included) don’t need to hear it. And those who don’t care about peace? Well …”
The series of tweets unsurprisingly sparked a flurry of comments. Many commenters argued that Musk’s version was the wrong one. According to these Twitter users, Musk was denied entry to the Berghain.
“I’ve interviewed an eye witness who alleges they witnessed Elon Musk being turned away from Berghain, contrary to the Musk’s claims on Twitter,” Bloomberg News’s reporter William Turton wrote on Twitter. “They provided me with the name of the bouncer who apparently did so. I’ve contacted them to learn more.”
“The reason I love a space like Berghain is exactly because of this; your money and power doesn’t mean anything at the door of Berghain,” another Twitter user posted. “It is a space to be free of this hierarchy! The fact that a person like Elon Musk is refused at the door makes Berghain the amazing place it is.”
“Bro do you seriously believe he went there, saw „peace“ written somewhere and then walked away. Come on you can‘t believe that,” commented another one.
Musk’s Berlin Bet
TheStreet has contacted the nightclub but hasn’t heard back.
Berghain, located in a former disused power station in the district of Friedrichshain (central Berlin), is one of the most exclusive and difficult-to-access nightclubs. It is the Mecca of techno music, one of the most popular and renowned places to listen and dance to electronic music.
Musk was in Berlin recently to inaugurate the official opening of the new $5.5 billion Tesla factory, located in Gruenheide, outside Berlin. He personally delivered the first 30 cars manufactured in this factory and danced in front of Tesla employees and customers.
The facility covers 300 hectares and will employ 12,000 people. Eventually, 500,000 vehicles – the Tesla Model Y, 100% electric SUVs – should roll off the lines each year.
It will primarily serve the European market and should enable Tesla to produce and deliver nearly 1.42 million electric vehicles this year. Tesla also plans to develop a new type of battery there.
