Elon Musk goes “Fullmetal Alchemist” and the internet can’t handle it
PewDiePie, YouTube / Viz MediaTesla CEO and tech millionaire Elon Musk is known for his recurring Twitter shenanigans – but his latest antic has anime fans across the platform going wild.
On April 19, Musk changed his icon to a picture of Edward Elric, the protagonist of popular anime and manga series “Fullmetal Alchemist” – prompting fans of the franchise to wonder if he was heading an investigation into human transmutation.
“I don’t know what prompted Elon Musk to switch to an Edward Elric profile pic, but I fully approve,” one user wrote.
I don’t know what prompted Elon Musk to switch to an Edward Elric profile pic but I fully approve. pic.twitter.com/X2qGTL1LQJ
— Justin N. (@JH_Nguyen99) April 19, 2019
“Elon Musk, for the love of god, don’t perform human transmutation,” another jokingly warned.
Even popular anime streaming service Crunchyroll got in on the action, telling Musk that they merely “want to talk” about his apparent love for the anime.
Elon Musk, for the love of god don’t perform human transmutation pic.twitter.com/RIIiBY9mCl
— :sparkles:MarXMar:sparkles: (@MarXMar0) April 19, 2019
listen elon musk i just wanna talk… https://t.co/oVSF2RFRI2
— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) April 19, 2019
Elon Musk’s favorite anime
This wouldn’t be Musk’s first time touting his passion for Japanese animation, by far; in fact, Musk had even Tweeted about wanting to make a real-life mecha, as seen in popular anime like Mobile Suit Gundam or the Macross series.
Musk similarly expressed his love for ‘Your Name’ in late 2018, an anime movie that details a romantic love story between two teenagers who swap bodies – prompting a heated discussion on his favorite movies in the genre, which include such masterpieces as Studio Ghibli’s ‘Spirited Away’ and ‘Princess Mononoke.’
It is time to create a mecha
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2018
Love Your Namehttps://t.co/fRU7nTWnML
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2018
The newfound anime fan even went so far as to give himself a new nickname, jokingly asking fans to call him “Elon-Chan” in response to the madness.
Elon Musk & Esports
Musk has likewise inserted himself into the esports realm, after Fortnite pro FaZe Tfue seemingly joked about buying a Tesla after Musk responded to one of his Tweets.
Fortnite is by far the most fun game right now but any of the classics on Atari or Nintendo 64 would be incredible :ok_hand:
— Tfue (@TTfue) October 15, 2018
Musk went on to ask Tfue what video games would be best played in a Tesla, using classic Atari titles as an example – to which the gaming pro appropriately responded with Fortnite, following up with games from the N64 era.
Musk even made an appearance on PewDiePie’s ‘Meme Review’ show in mid-February, alongside Rick and Morty’s Justin Roiland in an attempt to beat out T-Series’ eventual victory.
[Timestamp: 13:27 for mobile viewers.]
Elon Musk claimed that his Twitter was “pretty much complete nonsense” prior to switching his icon, and he wouldn’t be wrong – but his hilarious social media antics are providing users across the platform with a good chuckle, in the meantime.