Hugely popular YouTuber MrBeast rejected Elon Musk's suggestion to upload his videos to X with a brutal critique of the beleaguered social media platform's monetization policies.
After MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, announced the YouTube release of his latest video on
“I uploaded, go check it out or I'll dropkick you,” Donaldson wrote on December 30. “Also upload on this platform,” a user named DogeDesigner added. “Yes,” Musk said.
Donaldson then explained why he did not agree to that plan. “My videos cost millions to make and even if they got a billion views on X it wouldn't fund a fraction of them :/,” he wrote in response.
Although he added, “I do plan to test things out once the monetization really gets going!”
The 25-year-old from Witchita, Kansas, has amassed 188 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 50 billion views since he started posting in 2012.
Musk was seen arriving with his 3-year-old son X Æ A-Xii, whom he shares with Grimes, on New Year's Eve in St. Barths
Musk was responding to MrBeast's latest upload: I Spent 7 Days In Solitary Confinement when he suggested the YouTuber switch to X
Donaldson then explained why he did not agree to that plan. “My videos cost millions to make and even if they got a billion views on
His latest video, I Spent 7 Days In Solitary Confinement, has 54 million views at the time of writing. Donaldson's channel has a total of 224 million subscribers.
In June 2023, Musk made the same suggestion. He replied to one of Donaldson's tweets saying, “Post to his platform too. The revenue per view must be competitive with YouTube. If not, we will adapt.”
Since acquiring X in 2022, Musk has made several attempts to get creators to use his platform for original content.
Posts on Users generate money through engagement and ads.
There is also an option similar to Twitch that allows people to pay to subscribe to their favorite creators in exchange for exclusive content.
Many X users joked about Donaldson's rejection of Musk's approach.
“He told Elon, 'You can't afford me a little brother,'” one user wrote. 'X is no place for video. Elon can scream all he can,” wrote another. While another said: 'Exactly. X does not pay well. Do not do it.'
It is estimated that Donaldson earns between two and four million dollars per month from YouTube.
Since acquiring X in 2022, Musk has made several attempts to get creators to use his platform for original content
Donaldson is one of the most popular YouTube personalities in the world.
The 25-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, has amassed 188 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 50 billion views since he started posting in 2012.
In 2018, he donated $100,000 worth of products to a homeless shelter, and has since repeated doses to an Uber driver, a waitress and people in parking lots.
In one video, he dropped $20,000 from a drone and gave a pizza guy the house he delivered to as a tip.
A fourteen-time winner of the Internet's Streamy Awards, he has expanded into smartphone apps, video game tournaments, restaurants and his own food line, earning an estimated $500 million.
Earlier this year, he claimed he was among those invited on the doomed Titan submarine voyage.
“I was invited to ride the giant submarine earlier this month, I said no,” he wrote on X. “Kind of scary that I could have sat on it.”
Since acquiring content moderators and reinstating the banned accounts of divisive public figures – have turned off users and advertisers, who have fled over concerns about hate speech appearing next to their ads.
In December, Musk reinstated conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' account, citing a poll on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that came out in favor of the Infowars host who repeatedly called the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax mentioned.
Musk posted a poll asking if Jones should be reinstated. The results showed that 70% of those who responded positively. Musk responded to the results, saying, “The people have spoken and so it shall be.”