Amidst a controversial name-change to Twitter and a bizarre request to fight Mark Zuckerberg (neither of which were on our 2023 bingo card), it’s hard to imagine how Elon Musk could grab any more headlines. However, thanks to his well-documented adversary Stephen King, the billionaire and would-be Mars resident has again appeared on our feeds, this time following King’s surprising praise for Musk.
The acclaimed horror author took to X (Twitter) to share his thoughts on one of Musk’s most famous products, describing his own Tesla as a “good automobile.” While King conceded that his Tesla Model S — which he purchased in 2013 — does not have “the same range as” the newer models, he nonetheless defended the vehicle and revelled in the fact that it “still goes fast.”
“[My Tesla has] never given me a speck of trouble,” King added. The tweet marks a change of pace in Musk and King’s previous online interactions, which have included the latter criticizing both Twitter’s name-change and its verification system, as well as commenting on the recent rivalry between Musk and Zuckerberg.
Seemingly in favour of King’s renewed attitude towards Musk (or more accurately, towards his cars), fans responded to the writer’s tweet with enthusiasm, with one user suggesting that at least King “likes something about” the billionaire. “Glad you actually have something nice to say,” one user wrote, while another described the tweet as the best advertisement they’ve ever seen for Tesla.
It marks the most recent time that King has sung praises for the automotive company, with the It author last describing Musk as a “visionary” and declaring his “love” for his Tesla. It’s not yet known whether King’s tweet will put an end his long-running gripe with Musk, but given the sheer ferocity of their feud (which also includes King dubbing Musk a “terrible fit” for Twitter), we do expect less complimentary quips to be coming Musk’s way soon enough.
King is not the only celebrity to criticize Musk of late, with the billionaire attracting the ire of Grimes, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Mark Hamil and — perhaps most notoriously — his would-be cage fight opponent Zuckerberg.
