Elon Musk is having an online identity crisis.
The Tesla (TSLA) CEO and self-described "Chief Twit" at Twitter recently started calling himself "Mr. Tweet" on the microblogging website that he shelled out $44 billion for on Oct. 27.
The new handle first cropped up in a civil jury trial where shareholders are suing Tesla over losses they say they suffered when Musk tweeted he had "secured" money to take the company private at $420 per share.
During cross-examination, Nicholas Porritt, an attorney representing lead plaintiff Glen Littleton, 71, of Kansas City, Mo., as well as other Tesla shareholders, accidentally called the world's second richest man "Mr. Tweet" instead of "Mr. Musk."
Porritt described his misidentification as a "Freudian slip," according to news accounts, while Musk quipped "that's probably an accurate description."
But now Musk said he is stuck with the new username as his own social media site won't let him undo the change.
"Changed my name to Mr. Tweet, now Twitter won’t let me change it back," Musk said in a Jan, 25 tweet, complete with a laughing emoji.
"If only you knew someone in management!" one person responded.
"you should complain to elon musk about it," another tweet said.
Musk Not the Only One
"So now i can change my name to Elon Musk?' came yet another response.
One person posted an image of a man looking into a mirror and saying "Mr, Tweet, please, let me be Elon again."
"Actual footage of Mr. Tweet talking with customer support," the tweet read.
The problem stems from a rash of impersonation attempts last year by people who paid $8 to the company for a blue check mark verification badge.
Musk is not the only person to have trouble with the username change. In November, the singer Doja Cat complained after she changed her Twitter screen name to Christmas and couldn't undo it.
She tossed an "F-bomb" in Musk's direction and asked for his help, saying "don’t wanna be christmas forever @elonmusk please help i’ve made a mistake."
The civil trial expected to be turned over to a nine-person jury in early February.
Musk reached a settlement with the SEC on Sept. 29, 2018, which required the CEO and Tesla to each pay a $20 million fine and for Musk to step down as chairman for tweeting that he could take Tesla private at $420 per share and buy out the company for $72 billion.
