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• Elon Musk answered a question on Tesla’s earnings call by saying how popular he is online. 
• He talked up his 127 million Twitter followers and said his account might be the most interacted with across social media sites. 
• Tesla reported strong fourth-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations. 

Elon Musk is all Twitter all the time these days — even when he’s on Tesla’s quarterly earnings call. 

On a Wednesday call with investors in his car company, Musk talked up how popular he is on his newly acquired social network. The comments came in response to an investor question about what Tesla is doing to mitigate brand damage resulting from Musk’s running political commentary on Twitter.

Polls have shown that Tesla’s favorability is declining among Democrats, suggesting Musk’s public embrace of the right is alienating left-leaning customers. 

“Let me check my Twitter account. OK, so I’ve got 127 million followers, and it continues to grow very rapidly,” Musk said. “That suggests that I’m reasonably popular. Now, I might not be popular with some people, but for the vast majority of people, my follower count speaks for itself,” 

“I’m the most interacted social media account, I think maybe in the world, certainly on Twitter,” the billionaire added. 

Musk’s increasingly erratic presence on Twitter — where he’s posted conservative memes, bashed Anthony Fauci, and called out wokeism — has pushed some longtime Tesla owners to abandon the brand. 

Musk, who now leads Twitter, Tesla, and several other ventures, praised Twitter’s potential for driving sales and encouraged more companies to use the platform. Musk’s chaotic buyout of the website, which closed in October, saw heaps of high-profile advertisers pull spending. 

“I think Twitter’s actually an incredibly powerful tool for driving demand for Tesla. And I would really encourage companies out there of all kinds, automotive or otherwise, to make more use of Twitter and to use their Twitter accounts in ways that are interesting, and informative, entertaining,” Musk said. 

To be sure, Musk also talked about Tesla’s finances. The company reported $24.32 billion in revenue during the last three months of 2022, beating Wall Street’s expectations. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.19 also beat analyst estimates.

Tesla shares jumped about 5.4% in late trading following the results. 

Are you a Tesla owner, employee, or shareholder with a story to share? Contact this reporter at tlevin@insider.com