MrBeast has shared an update on his proposal to buy X, formerly Twitter, from Elon Musk.
Newsweek reached out to MrBeast’s representative and Musk’s representative via email for comment on Friday.
The Context
MrBeast—whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson—is one of the most popular YouTubers in the world. The 27-year-old currently boasts more than 412 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. He first got his start on the platform by posting gaming videos, though today, he is known for his over-the-top giveaways and extreme challenges.
In addition to content creation, Donaldson has several food brands including Feastables, Lunchly and MrBeast Burger. Forbes once said he could be “the first YouTuber billionaire.”
Musk is the CEO of Tesla and founder of aerospace company SpaceX. He’s the richest person in the world, per Forbes, and has a net worth of $402.1 billion as of July 11. The 54-year-old acquired Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion and rebranded its name in July 2023.
Elon Musk speaks alongside President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30 in Washington, D.C. Inset: MrBeast attends YouTube Brandcast 2025 at David Geffen Hall on May…
Elon Musk speaks alongside President Donald Trump to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30 in Washington, D.C. Inset: MrBeast attends YouTube Brandcast 2025 at David Geffen Hall on May 14 in New York City.
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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
What To Know
On Thursday, Donaldson took to X to share an update on his interest in buying the platform from Musk.
“Sooooo, is now my time?” the Kansas native asked over a message he had written in December 2022, in which he said: “Can I be the new Twitter CEO?”
Currently, his post has more than 7.4 million views, 96,000 likes and 5,900 comments.
Donaldson’s note may be in response to X’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok recently sharing antisemitic comments on the social media platform.
Musk later wrote on the social media platform that Grok was “too compliant to user prompts” and “too eager to please,” adding that it “is being addressed.”
In April, the topic of X was discussed during an online exchange between Donaldson and Musk. At the time, the media personality was looking for volunteers for his “100 Men vs a Gorilla” challenge.
“Sure, what’s the worst that could happen?” Musk asked, appearing to put himself forward for the video.
In response to the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Donaldson said: “I might actually own this platform soon.”
In 2022, Musk said that if he were to “die under mysterious circumstances,” Donaldson could have X.
This isn’t the first time Donaldson teased potentially acquiring a social media platform. Earlier this year, he offered to purchase TikTok amid threats of a ban.
“Okay fine, I’ll buy Tik Tok so it doesn’t get banned,” he wrote in January.
What People Are Saying
In the comments underneath Donaldson’s most recent post about X, fans asked him a slew of questions.
X user @nftowned wrote in a reply with 97,200 views and 27 likes: “Will you name it back to Twitter?”
@abneribeiro0 wrote with 63,400 views and 13 likes: “What would you do differently if you were the CEO?”
@tmalley99 posted in a message with 5,041 views and 26 likes: “Would you bring back Vine?”
@razroo_chief added: “do you know how to code?”
What Happens Next?
Musk has not yet responded to Donaldson’s latest post about purchasing X.