Singer Nick Jonas sparked backlash from fans after cozying up to billionaire Elon Musk after the X owner used a GIF of the Jonas Brothers in a boastful tweet about Tesla's stock performance.
Tesla shares surged to an all-time high last week, surpassing their previous record set in 2021. The stock closed at $424.77, surpassing its former peak of $409.97 on November 4, 2021, by around $15. Tesla’s market value has increased by approximately 71% this year, with nearly all of those gains occurring since President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory early last month.
It all began after X account dedicated to "amplifying" Musk's work shared a screenshot of an older article suggesting Musk's association with Trump would send the company into decline.
The post included the following caption:
"Wait.... everyone thought Elon Musk was destroying the Brand of [Tesla] and he shouldn't be involved in politics. Tesla is up 100% since Donald Trump won!"
You can see the post below.
A gleeful Musk shared the post, saying, "My, how the tables have turned!" above a GIF of the Jonas Brothers quite literally turning a table around.
And things got iffy after Jonas quote-tweeted Musk.
His post included a picture of Musk pointing his finger, wearing a smug expression, and added the caption "Take us to the Year 3000" — a nod to the Jonas Brothers' 2006 cover of "Year 3000," originally recorded by the British boy band Busted in 2003.
You can see his post below.
Many saw Jonas' post as an endorsement of Musk—and the backlash came hard and fast.
Jonas has not responded to the criticism but if his tweet is a tacit endorsement, then Musk has another backer as he prepares to take a lead role in the second Trump administration.
Musk's new role as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) grants him influence over federal agencies' budgets, staffing, and the ability to advocate for the removal of troublesome regulations. During a Tesla earnings call in October, Musk stated that he planned to use his influence with Trump to establish a “federal approval process for autonomous vehicles.”