MrBeast posts first YouTube video directly to X to see how much ad revenue he'll make
It just so happens to feature a Tesla.
MrBeast has uploaded his first full video on X (formerly known as Twitter), in the latest stage of his verbal fencing match with Elon Musk.
The stratospherically successful YouTuber made waves back in late 2023 when he got into something of a spat with Musk, X's world-famous owner.
Musk seemed to want MrBeast to post his famously high-energy and high-budget videos on X as well as their traditional home, YouTube, but the zany video-maker responded by questioning whether X's advertising revenue would make it worth his while.
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MrBeast was basically suggesting that X doesn't share enough revenue with creators based on the number of views they supposedly get on videos or posts, something that has become an increasingly common complaint since the revenue-sharing system launched.
Musk has since said the amounts given out will go up a lot in 2024, so it looks like this is a priority for him moving forward.
That seemed like it might be the end of that, with Musk's tail between his legs and MrBeast continuing to dominate on YouTube, but now we've got a new a twist in the tale.
MrBeast has just uploaded his first-ever full-length video to X, re-uploading a massive comparison of cars that he first released on YouTube back in September 2023. In it, showcases a bunch of cars - ranging from a rust bucket that cost $1 up to a $100,000,000 vehicle.
He captioned the video with a note to say "I’m curious how much ad revenue a video on X would make so I’m reuploading this to test it. Will share ad rev next week".
Musk has already quote-replied to shout out the video - while that might all seem plenty friendly, it still looks like an interesting gambit. Is it a coincidence that the video MrBeast chose happens to feature a short segment about a Tesla?
Either way, the YouTuber might be a cuddly guy but he's also clearly a canny business operator, and by taking the transparency route and promising to share details of his revenue next week, he's holding Musk's feet to the fire a little.
If the video doesn't make decent money, you can assume he won't keep posting full videos to X, but if it does make a fair shake then we can likely expect other creators to do the math and figure out whether any preferential treatment has been going on. But if Musk does succeed in making a better deal for creators on X, we could see plenty of others flocking to the platform.