Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a picture on X referencing the famous inventor that he owes the name of his company to, Nikola Tesla.
The post, which intended to highlight Tesla’s tenacity and contributions as a poor immigrant whose innovations helped revolutionize America’s technology, ended up causing an unexpected reaction due to the photo he used to represent the scientist.
Instead of using a historical image, Musk instead opted to use a poster of the 2017 movie The Current War, in which actor Nicholas Hoult portrays the Tesla as he gets taken advantage of by Thomas Edison in his competition against George Westinghouse.
“We named @Tesla after Nikola Tesla, one of the greatest engineers ever,” Musk tweeted. “He was a penniless immigrant whose inventions led to American dominance in electricity generation and usage.”
“Clearly a very convincing performance I gave here,” the actor replied.
Nicholas Hoult playfully reacted to Elon Musk’s post in honor of Nikola Tesla, in which the tech mogul used a photo of the actor in costume instead of the historical inventor
Musk followed up his post by sharing a bulleted list of Tesla’s greatest accomplishments written by Grok, the AI chatbot developed by another of his companies, xAI.
The AI highlighted his work with alternating current systems, which revolutionized long-distance power transmission, a key element of modern electric networks, as well as his visionary work with the Tesla coil, an invention that featured high-frequency electricity crucial to the development of wireless technologies and radio.
Musk’s intention was to send a message concerning the current political debate on immigration, between those who seek more stringent policies and those who are in favor of less closed borders.
“Yes, no one is saying we shouldn’t seek out the best,” one user replied. “[But] the H1B program needs reform because it has been heavily exploited, displacing skilled American workers at one-third of the cost.”
Clearly a very convincing performance I gave here https://t.co/HjhRWe5tnG
— Nicholas Hoult (@NicholasHoult) December 29, 2024
Others took issue with Musk taking credit for the company’s naming, attributing it to their founders, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tepenning who incorporated the brand in July 2003.
“You didn’t name anything. You took over the company four years after you bought some stock!” a netizen argued.
Fans of the actor congratulated him for his recent successes like the movie Nosferatu, which has been a hit with critics
On Nicholas Hoult’s side of the X exchange, his followers took the chance to congratulate him on his fruitful career.
The actor has been featured in a consistent number of hit movies. He recently appeared in Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2, Justin Kurzel’s The Order, and Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu.
“Saw you on Nosferatu today. Great performance, bud!” a follower said. “You cooked here!”
“Enjoy your success with this one. Well Deserved, Mister Hoult!” another wrote.
Hoult is also set to appear in 2025’s Superman, directed by James Gunn. Hoult will take on the role of the iconic archnemesis Lex Luthor, providing a much more cerebral and refined appearance to his more imposing counterpart seen in comics and animated series.
“You were a great Nikola, Nicholas!” Fans took the chance to congratulate the actor on his performance in the 2017 movie
