FREDERIC J.BROWN/AFP via Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Getty Images Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk are vocal crypto enthusiasts and have been friendly to each other online.Most recently, Dorsey tweeted his support for Musk as he joins Twitter’s board of directors.Their friendship stands out against other tech execs’ feuds, like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook’s.See more stories on Insider’s business page .Both Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk have emerged as quasi-bitcoin ambassadors, using their Twitter platforms to spout their devotion to the virtual currency.
And their mutual love for the digital currency has brought them together in a way that has become somewhat rare among big tech executives.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook famously have beef stretching back years , and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had a long feud with the late Apple visionary Steve Jobs.
But what Musk and Dorsey have shared online is different.
That fact remains even as Musk subpoenas Dorsey for material relating to spam accounts as part of the Tesla exec’s defense against Twitter.
Here’s how their bromance was born and blossomed.
One of Dorsey’s first public bouts of praise for Musk was in 2016 Dorsey.Francois Mori/AP The Twitter CEO said Musk’s account on the social platform was one of his favorites.
“He’s constantly on Twitter, constantly talking about what [Tesla is] doing — and how he’s feeling about it as well,” Dorsey said at a trade show in 2016.”He’s very open and using it to correct press and if people aren’t focused on the right things.I think he’s a really good model of how to use it well.”
Musk gave Dorsey some tips on how Twitter could be improved in January 2020 Musk.Win McNamee/Getty Images Dorsey asked Musk for “direct feedback” in a video call in front of thousands of Twitter employees.
The Tesla CEO said it would be helpful to tell fake and real users apart.
“Is this a real person, or is this a bot net, or a sort of troll army, or something like that?” Musk said.
Musk came to Dorsey’s defense in March 2020 amid an attempted ousting Dorsey.AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana An activist hedge fund that had amassed about a 5% stake in Twitter pushed an initiative to drive Dorsey out of his role as CEO.
The hedge fund, Elliot Management, reasoned that since Dorsey led two companies, Twitter and Square, he wasn’t focused enough on the former.
Musk — who also helms two companies — tweeted, “Just want say that I support @Jack as Twitter CEO.He has a good” heart, using the heart emoji.
—Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2020
Musk said he called Dorsey right after his account was compromised in the great Twitter hack of July 2020 Musk.Britta Pedersen / POOL / AFP via Getty Images Hackers staged a coordinated attack on dozens of celebrity accounts last summer, and Musk’s was one of them.He told The New York Times that he personally called Dorsey after realizing he was hacked.
“Within a few minutes of the post coming up, I immediately got texts from a bunch of people I know, then I immediately called Jack so probably within less than five minutes my account was locked,” Musk told the Times.
Both Musk and Dorsey have become accidental crypto influencers David Becker/Getty Images Dorsey especially has thrown his support behind the digital currency, which has seen booming popularity and growth recently.
The Twitter CEO has simply “#bitcoin” in his account bio and said at Miami’s bitcoin bonanza last year that “Bitcoin changes absolutely everything.I don’t think there’s anything more important in my lifetime to work on.”
And he said in a series of tweets in mid-2021 that Square was toying with building out a hardware wallet for bitcoin.
And Musk has proven he can move markets with crypto-related tweets Musk.Hannibal Hanschke-Pool/Getty Images Musk has said he strongly believes in crypto, and Tesla said at one point it would accept vehicle purchases in the form of bitcoin.
The CEO also included the #bitcoin hashtag in his Twitter bio at one point.
But last year, Musk announced the company was suspending bitcoin payments over concerns around the use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions.He said Tesla would start accepting it when at least half of bitcoin mining is powered by clean energy.
Musk has kicked off market rallies for the tweets he posts about cryptocurrencies, much to the anger of regulators and investors.
For example, he tweeted in 2021 “my Shiba Inu will be named Floki,” a reference to the Shiba Inu that represents dogecoin.The altcoin shot up 16% just minutes after Musk published his tweet.
Musk and Dorsey finally publicly dished on their mutual enthusiasm for crypto Musk and Dorsey.Joe Skipper/Reuters; Philippe Wojazer/Reuters Dorsey posted about an upcoming bitcoin event called “The B Word” on Twitter in the summer 2021, and after Musk responded to it, the Twitter CEO invited him to attend for a conversation.
Musk responded, “For the Bitcurious? Very well then, let’s do it,” and added a wink face emoji.Dorsey said he would set it up.
The virtual chat in July 2021 was the first public appearance starring the two friendly executives.You can watch a recording of it here.
Dorsey chimed in with support for Musk as the latter joins Twitter’s board of directors Elon Musk Picture Alliance/Getty Images In March, Musk became Twitter’s largest shareholder after buying up a 9.2% stake in the social media giant.
Musk is also becoming a Twitter board member, and the company’s current CEO tweeted his support early Tuesday for the news, calling Musk a “passionate believer.”
Dorsey shortly after tweeted something similar.
“I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board!” Dorsey said.
“He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team.”
—jack⚡️ (@jack) April 5, 2022
Musk subpoenaed Dorsey in August.Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.Associated Press Musk is after any documents or communications as far back as 2019 that might mention “the impact or effect of false or spam accounts on Twitter’s business and operations.”
Twitter sued Musk in July after the Tesla exec attempted to back out of his $44 billion purchase of the company.Musk has countersued the company, accusing it of misleading his team over how many bots are actually on the platform.
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