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Elon Musk is now the most-followed person on Twitter

Elon Musk is now the most-followed person on Twitter

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The billionaire has dethroned former President Barack Obama as the most popular person on Twitter.

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Elon Musk, with a background of Twitter badges
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Photo: Getty Images

Elon Musk has dethroned former President Barack Obama as the most followed person on Twitter. As of right now, the billionaire has 133,068,709 followers compared to Obama’s 133,042,819, according to the follower counts reported on their respective Twitter profiles.

Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter has undoubtedly helped skyrocket his follower count past Obama’s. The Twitter chief hit 100 million followers last June, and that number has only continued to grow in the months that followed.

In between posting random and sometimes offensive memes, Musk uses his account to communicate various changes coming to Twitter. He has also polled followers about some major decisions, like letting Donald Trump back onto the platform and whether or not Musk should step down as CEO of Twitter.

Musk’s posting habits stand in stark contrast to Obama’s, who mainly uses his account for professional purposes, such as promoting an important cause or highlighting some of the work he did as president. The same goes for Justin Bieber and Katy Perry, who occupy the third and fourth most-followed spots, respectively.