Taylor Swift fans have taken aim at Elon Musk over the billionaire’s tweet imploring the pop star to share new music on X/Twitter.
The Tesla owner and CEO of X made the request in response to a post shared by Swift ahead of the release of her new album 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Swift had partnered with Google to create a sequence of puzzles that, when solved, would reveal the names of new tracks for her forthcoming album.
“It’s a new soundtrack,” she wrote on X. “Here are the back covers and vault track titles for 1989 (my version) I can’t wait for this one to be out, seriously. Thank you for playing along, sleuthing, puzzling and making these reveals so much chaotic fun (which is the best kind of fun, after all).”
In the comments underneath, Musk wrote: “I recommend posting some music or concert videos directly on the X platform.”
His comment drew derisive responses from Swift’s fans, with many questioning why the globally famous pop star would feel the need to lend her music to the website’s new feature.
“Owner of failing social media platform would like one of the biggest musicians on the planet to help it stay relevant,” one person wrote. “Elon is desperate, isn't he? And the world knows it.”
“Elon Musk acting like there is anything Twitter can do for TAYLOR SWIFT re: exposure and reach that she isn’t already doing on her own is inadvertently the first genuinely hilarious thing he’s ever done,” another remarked.
“‘I recommend posting some music or concert videos directly on the X platform,’ Musk tweeted, unable to muster a single reason why Swift, one of the most successful musicians on the planet, should do so. Lol,” wrote podcaster Róisín Ingle.
“Elon Musk thinks Taylor Swift needs his advice on how to market herself and make her music popular. Because of course he does,” someone else commented.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) comprises re-recorded versions of songs from Swift’s 2014 album 1989. It forms part of an ongoing effort to re-record and re-release much of Swift’s back catalogue, prompted by a licencing and royalties dispute with former producer Scooter Braun.
The new record will also feature additional songs from her “vault”, including songs written at the time she was first recording the album that didn’t make it on to the final version.
Musk and Swift have crossed paths on social media before. In March, Musk was roasted for a series of bizarre posts about the artist, in which he praised her “limbic resonance skill”.
