YouTube’s biggest star MrBeast has turned down Elon Musk’s request to post his videos on the platform, Yahoo Finance reports. He said the platform couldn’t “fund a fraction” of his expenses.
On December 30 last year, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, posted a video on X to announce that his latest video was available on YouTube.
Donaldson had uploaded a 20-minute video to YouTube describing how he spent a week in solitary confinement. Similar videos in which Donaldson challenges himself or some person to an extreme task are the culprits he has gained worldwide fame.
MrBeast earned around $82 million in 2023 and has over 225 million subscribers on his main channel, making him the biggest name on the platform.
It’s no secret that Musk has been trying to get users interested in videos on the platform for quite some time now.
His attempts included a media partnership with Paris Hilton – which has since been terminated, as well as streaming shows from people like former Fox star Tucker Carlson.
Elon Musk, in collaboration with CEO Linda Iaccarino, aims to enhance revenue by introducing premium subscription services on the platform. These services, among other features, grant users the ability to display a “verified” status and send direct messages to other accounts.
These measures were implemented in response to the departure of several advertisers from the platform due to concerns about their brands being associated with unregulated content.
In an effort to include MrBeast’s content on the platform, Musk’s proposal, not limited to exclusivity, was turned down by the creator. Donaldson responded courteously to Musk, explaining that his videos require significant investment, and even if they were to garner a billion views on X, it wouldn’t cover a fraction of the production costs. However, he expressed a willingness to explore options once monetization proves to be successful.
This gracious response stands in contrast to Donaldson’s previous keen interest in Twitter. Interestingly, his bio still identifies him as the “X Super Official CEO,” a nod to earlier speculation about who would assume the day-to-day management of the platform amid Musk’s busy schedule.