Is #DeleteFacebook the new “Ice Bucket Challenge”? If so, Elon Musk is up to the task.
The Tesla and SpaceX head honcho responded to WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton’s call to delete Facebook on Friday, tweeting “what’s Facebook?” A follower soon tweeted to Musk, challenging him to delete his rocket company’s Facebook page to prove he’s “the man.” Musk obliged, saying, “I didn’t realize there was one. Will do.”
Maybe not when it comes to meeting Tesla delivery times, but when it comes to social media, Musk is clearly a man of his word; SpaceX’s Facebook page vanished soon afterward on Friday morning.
I didn’t realize there was one. Will do.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2018
Things kept going from there. Reporter Bryson Masse tweeted a picture of Tesla’s Facebook page to Musk, asking “this should be deleted too right?” Musk agreed, saying it “looks lame anyway.”
Definitely. Looks lame anyway.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 23, 2018
Combined, the Tesla and SpaceX pages boasted about 5 million followers. Dropping Instagram — which is owned by Facebook — is a bridge too far for Musk, however.
“Instagram’s probably ok imo, so long as it stays fairly independent,” tweeted Musk. “I don’t use FB & never have, so don’t think I’m some kind of martyr or my companies are taking a huge blow. Also, we don’t advertise or pay for endorsements, so … don’t care.”
Of course, Musk would have one less spot to share clips of his nifty flamethrower if he left Instagram — which he has not done at the time of this writing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeeYW0NA1HU/?hl=en&taken-by=elonmusk
In related news, Facebook continued its slide on Wall Street on Friday, dropping 1.5 percent to $162.50 a share in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data leak.