Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a digital tycoon, challenged followers to be more active on X (previously Twitter) by posting a call to action. Musk recently requested a response to a post made by DogeDesigner, a popular meme account that parodies passive watching on social media humorously.

The post included an Indian meme where a man was leisurely smoking, seated on a ledge, observing a huge group of people playing cricket in the field. The picture has the caption: “Don’t be that guy who simply observes all posts but never engages. Join the discussion—interact with posts on X.” Musk replied by quoting the post with just a plain yet strong “Yes.”

Musk’s Application of Memes to Pass Judgments

This is not the first that Elon Musk has applied memes when giving his thoughts on matters of concern. To be precise, Musk has developed a special communication style wherein he tends to use humor while making arguments via social media. Previously, Musk has posted memes to pass his judgments on momentous occasions, as well as criticize big-time corporations.

For example, during a significant Microsoft outage in 2023 that impacted companies worldwide, Musk ridiculed the computer giant by sharing the same meme. The meme, which showed a person sitting lazily watching something while the world around them was in disarray, may have been a representation of Microsoft’s slow response to the outage.

In a second example in 2023, Musk tweeted a meme disparaging the Apple-OpenAI agreement. The meme, from the 2017 Tamil film Thappattam, according to reports, featured a man and woman drinking coconut water with the caption “How intelligence works.” It suggested that the partnership between Apple and OpenAI would lead to users’ privacy issues.

Musk’s Discontent with X Suspension in Brazil

Musk’s meme use continued in 2024 when X was suspended during a long court battle between Brazil’s Supreme Court and the company over disinformation. Frustrated, Musk posted a meme showing the emergence of VPN firms in Brazil after banning X, captioned “POV: VPN companies after Brazil banned Twitter.”

Elon Musk’s application of memes as a commentary on contemporary affairs, business decisions, and platform policies is a testament to his lighthearted but straightforward mode of communication, drawing the attention of millions of his X followers.