Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk criticized Twitter’s efforts to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in profile pictures. He called the latest update “annoying” and said that Twitter wasted engineering resources on this feature. The microblogging site should put more effort into controlling spam activity on the platform, Musk added.
Twitter recently introduced a new way to customize profiles so that users can show off the NFTs they own. Unlike the conventional round-type, NFTs appear as hex-shaped Twitter profile pictures. Initially, Twitter Blue subscribers on iOS were allowed to use NFT as their profile pictures.
Why Does Elon Musk Find Twitter NFT Profile Pictures Annoying?
Musk has been public with his support of blockchain technology, but he is also vocal with trivial or displeasing things. The increasing cryptocurrency giveaway scams likely cause his recent disapproval of Twitter’s new feature. These scams are usually done by people who impersonate Elon Musk and other well-known personalities.
The problem escalated to the point where Twitter had to block unverified accounts that changed their names to “Elon Musk” in 2018.
“This is annoying,” Musk wrote in a tweet about Twitter’s NFT move.
“Twitter is spending engineering resources on this while crypto scammers are throwing a spambot block party in every thread,” Musk explained in a subsequent Tweet.
Many users, including celebrities, started changing their Twitter display pictures to verified NFTs that they own. Eminem shocked the crypto community when he changed his Twitter DP to an ape NFT that he bought. The efforts of Twitter to promote non-fungible tokens happened after it announced that its platform was capable of transacting in crypto. They allow users to send or receive cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin.
Musk announced in March 2021 that his electric vehicle firm would accept payment for its cars in Bitcoin. However, he withdrew his decision in May, citing environmental concerns. Earlier this month, his company started getting Dogecoin as payment for some products.
“Elon is right. Twitter’s product team needs to prioritize what is important for user experience,” Adam Singer, former VP of Marketing for Google, said in a tweet.
Singer’s opinion was also backed by others, including Michael Saylor, CEO of US-based MicroStrategy. Saylor suggested that Twitter could solve the problem of fraudsters by letting users purchase a verified Twitter account with cryptocurrency.
Response to Twitter NFT Profile Pictures
Twitter’s Revenue Product head Bruce Falck has responded to Musk’s comments about the new Twitter NFT profile pictures. He said that Twitter is already working on solving the problem of spambots. Falck added that “allocation of engineering resources against the most critical issues is something that Twitter takes seriously.
An increasing number of scammers are impersonating famous personalities on social media like Twitter. Some Twitter users supported Musk’s criticisms while others blamed him for doing the same thing and instructing Tesla engineers on accepting payments on dogecoins.
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