'Mind-blowing': Elon Musk reacts to ex-US President Donald Trump's first tweet on X

Tech billionaire and the CEO of the microblogging platform 'X' Elon Musk, on Friday, reacted to ex-US President Donald Trump's first tweet in almost 2 years. The Republican chief, who was permanently banned from the then-called Twitter while he served as the president of the United States, returned on the rebranded platform earlier yesterday as he shared his mugshot taken inside the Fulton County Jail. Trump turned himself in on Thursday evening in Georgia after he was booked on 13 felony counts for the subversion of the 2020 elections.

In his first post since the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, ex-US President Trump shared his mugshot with a caption that read: "Mug Shot - August 24, 2023. Election interference. Never Surrender! DonaldJTrump.Com." Just 90 minutes after his mugshot was released, Trump  campaign also started to sell merchandise —the US$34 shirts, koozies, bumper stickers, and more with his booking photo on it.

As his first post on X gained traction, Musk rejoiced about the former president's comeback. "The speed at which your message on this platform can reach a vast number of people is mind-blowing," Musk wrote immediately after Trump posted his mugshot. Trump's post raked up one million likes in under twelve hours. Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee started to sell the merchandise of the former President's mugshot, saying that they would give away T-shirts in exchange for a US$47 donation.

Musk lauds Trump's talent for 'branding'

Trump's campaign fired the fundraising email for the former President's 2024 election bid claiming that the mugshot was an attempt “to make him look like a criminal in front of the entire world.” As Trump's supporters glorified his popularity on social media, Musk gave affirmative replies such as "true" as he also pointed at the former US president's talent for "branding" and "elite-level newsjacking."

After a ban was instated on Trump's account in 2021, the outgoing US President Trump accused the platform of banning free speech. Trump alleged that Twitter employees were coordinating with Democrats and the Left to stifle his voice and place a ban on his official social media account. Trump called people who voted for him 'patriots', as he added tha 'Twitter may be a private company, but without the government's gift of Section 230 they would not exist for long.' "We will not be SILENCED! Twitter is not about FREE SPEECH. They are all about promoting a Radical Left platform where some of the most vicious people in the world are allowed to speak freely...". Trump had lashed out.