Home / Headlines / Elon Musk Turns ‘Daddy DotCom’ to Delete Twitter Account Over Backlash
Headlines
3 min read

Elon Musk Turns ‘Daddy DotCom’ to Delete Twitter Account Over Backlash

Last Updated September 23, 2020 12:47 PM
Mark Emem
Last Updated September 23, 2020 12:47 PM

By CCN.com: What could possibly bring the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission together? Elon Musk it seems!

Late Sunday, the tech billionaire posted a tweet saying ‘just deleted my Twitter account’. This came after an intense weekend during which Musk was heavily criticized for posting an image created by an anime artist without giving due credit.

However, it was not clear whether Musk was playing a prank as his Twitter account was still visible several hours after announcing the move.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk Goes on a Twitter Rage with Anime Artists

Musk’s weekend roasting came about after he posted artwork created by French web artist @MagaliProd  without citing the source or creator. Attempts on Twitter to get him to credit the artwork’s owner fell on deaf ears with Musk simply saying ‘no’.

Musk then went ahead to argue that ‘no one should be credited with anything ever’. Additionally, Musk argued  that giving artists credit for their work on Twitter was destroying social media. This is because users could easily search to find out who it belonged to:

I wish people would stop crediting artists on twitter when any fool can find out who the artist was in seconds. It’s destroying the medium.

Musk has since then deleted all the tweets related to the online scuffle.

Would the SEC Be Happy to See Elon Musk Quit Twitter?

Before inviting the wrath of anime artists, Musk has previously attracted the ire of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The markets regulator is therefore likely to sigh with relief if Musk keeps his word to delete his Twitter account.

Last year in August, Musk casually announced on Twitter that he was ‘considering taking Tesla private’ after securing funding. For not following the protocol with regards to material announcements Musk was sued by the SEC.

A settlement between the two parties saw Tesla agree to pay a fine amounting to $20 million. Musk was also forced to resign as Tesla’s chairman. The tech billionaire also agreed to seek permission first before tweeting material information. It was not to end there, though.

Old Habits Die Hard

Earlier this year, Musk again ran afoul of the SEC when he tweeted that Tesla would produce half a million cars this year. Specifically, the SEC wrote in a filing that Musk had violated the earlier settlement. This included not just publishing inaccurate information but also failing to ‘seek or receive pre-approval’ before tweeting.

But just like he stuck to cave to artists over the weekend, Musk denied any violations. Nearly two months ago Musk and the SEC reached a slightly relaxed agreement  but where he will still be required to seek pre-approval prior to tweeting material information.