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Nier: Automata Fan Art Forces Elon Musk Off Twitter

Elon Musk felt the weight of the world.

This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.

Elon Musk, CEO of electric car company Tesla, has left Twitter. And it'll all because of a piece of Nier: Automata fan art.

Over the weekend Musk posted a Tweet with a drawing of the android 2B, a protagonist in the critically acclaimed 2017 action-RPG Nier: Automata. Simply captioned (incorrectly) "2b," Musk was criticized for not crediting the artist in his initial Tweet.

The initial 2B Tweet. | Twitter, screencapture via Kotaku.

When users asked Musk to credit the artist, Musk responded, "No." Instead of backing down, Musk continued to defend his choice not to credit artists on Twitter claiming attribution is "destroying the medium."

Musk's follow-up. | Twitter, screencapture via Kotaku.

Crediting art has become a major sticking point for artists on social media platform because of accounts that repost original content and pass it off as their own. This prevents users from discovering who the true artist of a work is and could cost them valuable eyes on current or future projects.

Musk has 27 million followers, a number that dwarfs the followers of the actual artist of the 2B picture, French artist Meli Magali. By not crediting them, both the original artist and the audience miss out on being able to connect with one another.

Criticism of Musk's decision not to credit the artist, and to defend the decision, continued through the weekend until last night when Musk announced that he was leaving the social media platform.

Musk's Twitter account is still technically live. | Twitter, screencapture via USG.

Musk hasn't actually deleted his account yet since his Tweets are still visible. Instead, he's changed his avatar to a blank picture and hasn't Tweeted in 15 hours.

This is not the first time the CEO's Tweets have landed him in trouble. In August 2018, Musk tweeted, "Considering taking Tesla private at $420." The Tweet caused Tesla stock to jump by over 6 percent and caught the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Following an investigation Musk was fined $20 million and was forced to step down as chairman of Tesla as a result of fraud charges.

By comparison, the backlash to the fanart of 2B seems relatively minor, but is another embarrassing social media episode for the CEO.

Cover image for YouTube video23 minutes of Nier: Automata gameplay

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NieR: Automata

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About the Author
Matt Kim avatar

Matt Kim

News Editor, USgamer

Matt Kim is a former freelance writer who's covered video games and digital media. He likes video games as spectacle and is easily distracted by bright lights or clever bits of dialogue. He also once wrote about personal finance, but that's neither here nor there.

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