Elon Musk - now Mr Tweet - says Twitter has left him stuck with the name

Online name change came after lawyer accidentally called the billionaire Mr Tweet in a courtroom

Twitter boss Elon Musk, in 2020. AFP
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The tech billionaire formerly known as Elon Musk is no more — at least for now. Long live Mr Tweet.

Twitter's new owner changed his name on his personal account to Mr Tweet but appears to be having difficulty switching it back.

"Changed my name to Mr Tweet, now Twitter won’t let me change it back," Mr Musk wrote on the platform, posting a laughing emoji.

It was a moment of levity for Mr Musk, who has lost his crown of world's richest person since his controversial purchase of Twitter in October fuelled a collapse in Tesla's stock price.

Mr Musk's online name change came after a lawyer accidentally called him "Mr Tweet" in a courtroom this week.

The billionaire is on trial over a 2018 tweet in which he said he had secured funding to take the electric car maker private.

Twitter has implemented a string of new rules since Mr Musk took the helm, including limiting how often people can change their names on the platform.

Mr Musk's comment that Twitter won't let him change his name back is an apparent reference to this rule, which was designed to stop users from impersonating other people.

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Updated: January 26, 2023, 7:49 PM