Elon Musk changed his username to 'Treelon' on Twitter after pledging to donate $1 million to a YouTuber's tree-planting cause
- Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, pledged Tuesday to donate $1 million-worth of trees to a YouTuber-launched campaign to plant 20 million trees by January 1, 2020.
- Shortly after pledging to donate, Musk changed his Twitter name to "Treelon" and his profile picture to a photo of trees, and also tweeted out "For Treebeard," a reference to a "Lord of the Rings" character.
- Musk's commitment to the bit is in line with the CEO's usage of Twitter, where he's trolled followers and also gotten in financial trouble with his wild claims and antics.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The very active Twitter account for @elonmusk often undergoes a name change when the Tesla CEO commits to a certain bit: Elon Tusk, , -1, and even Daddy DotCom. Now, Musk is going by "Treelon" on Twitter.
Musk pledged Tuesday to donate $1 million worth of trees to #TeamTrees, a campaign launched by YouTuber MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) to plant 20 million trees by the start of 2020. In a reply to a Twitter thread about the cause, Musk said it sounded "legit" and pledged one million trees.
MrBeast then responded to Musk's pledge and praised him as "Treelon Musk," marking the start of Musk's latest Twitter trolling. Musk promptly changed his Twitter display name to "Treelon," swapped in his profile picture for a picture of a forest, and tweeted out "For Treebeard," a reference to a tree-like being in "The Lord of the Rings."
Musk's Twitter name change has, predictably, already spawned memes on Reddit and social media.
Musk is known for his unpredictable Twitter presence, where he's revealed breaking news about his companies, clashed with high-profile figures, and sent out claims and statements that have landed him in into trouble (more than once) with his companies' shareholders and government agencies.
The Tesla CEO has readily chatted with YouTubers on Twitter, and is enmeshed within the platform's creator community, of which MrBeast is a part. Musk appeared back in February on an episode of YouTuber PewDiePie's "Meme Review," where he shared his take on popular internet memes and jokes.
MrBeast's tree-planting campaign has attracted attention from other prominent figures besides Musk. While Musk's 1 million tree donation is by far the largest on the #TeamTrees website, other famous names have contributed thousands of trees: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, YouTube beauty guru Jeffree Star, YouTuber gamer Jacksepticeye, and many more.
