Elon Musk Is Stephen King’s ‘Reply Guy’

Stephen King has tweeted his opinion on Elon Musk’s chaotic Twitter reign several times, and usually attracts a direct response from the Twitter CEO. King, however, has never bothered to respond to Musk – not even once.

This doesn’t seem to have deterred the mercurial billionaire, who still regularly replies to the horror author; despite owning the entire platform, Musk has been reduced to King’s “reply guy.”

What is a reply guy?

A “reply guy” is internet slang, used to describe the type of Twitter user who isn’t particularly skilled in the art of posting, but who appears regularly in the replies of Twitter’s wittiest, most influential and attractive users.

Typically, the phrase is used to describe men who have a one-sided, parasocial relationship to female influencers, and respond to their posts with an unsettling persistence, and over-familiarity.

The many variations of “reply guy” were once outlined in a hilarious Twitter thread by Comedian Sooz Kempner, who observed that reply guys love emojis, Musk’s trademark response to fans and critics.

Musk’s unanswered replies to Stephen King

Back at the beginning of Musk’s Twitter takeover, King criticized Musk’s original plan to charge users $20-per-month for a verification checkmark, which sparked a response from Musk, who appeared to haggle with the author, suggesting a more reasonable $8 instead; King did not respond.

A few days later, King tweeted: I think I liked Twitter better in the pre-Musk days. Less controversy, more fun.” Musk responded playfully with a ghost emoji, then followed up with: “I’m still a fan of you tbh.” Again, King didn’t respond, and Musk deleted the comment.

Later, King doubled down on criticizing Musk’s wildly inconsistent strategy for managing Twitter; since taking over the platform, Musk has imposed mass layoffs and reinstated suspended accounts like self-help author Jordan Peterson, Christian satire site The Babylon Bee, and former President Donald Trump.

Not to mention, Musk’s incessant tinkering with Twitter’s verification system has emboldened pranksters, copycats and scammers to run wild on the site, sparking an advertiser exodus.

Referencing the controversy, King wrote: “Pretty soon the only advertiser left on Twitter will be My Pillow.” Musk responded, “Oh hi lol.” Musk then followed up with, “Is My Pillow actually a great pillow? Now I’m curious.”

After King proceeded to ignore him, as usual, Musk couldn’t seem to let King’s comment go, returning to the post no less than twelve hours later to write:

“Headline: “Stephen King Tweet Causes My Pillow Sales to Skyrocket!” Lmaooo”

There was no response from King.

A few days later, King had softer words for his most dedicated “reply guy,” posting a tweet that described Musk as a “visionary.” King wrote: “I have a Tesla and love it. That said, he’s been a terrible fit for Twitter. He appears to be making it up as he goes along.”

Musk responded to the faint praise enthusiastically, writing “suggestions are welcome,” and using a crown emoji in place of King’s name.

When King, inevitably, failed to respond, Musk continued to have a one-sided conversation with the horror author, detailing his plans for Twitter and defending King’s honor to other users, describing King as “one of most creative people on Earth.” Musk then confirmed to another commentator that King had even received an invitation to Twitter’s headquarters.

King’s dismissive attitude seemed to send Musk’s most dedicated fans into a defensive frenzy, and even inspired an exceedingly clunky headline from The Babylon Bee.

King continued to tweet about Musk without directly engaging with the billionaire, clarifying that Musk never actually created Tesla – an innovation which is often mistakenly credited to Musk – but acknowledged that Musk did turn the company into a success (even if some unconventional steps were taken along the way).

King also retweeted a post that credited the original founders of Tesla, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. King concluded his criticism by doubling down, writing: “But…Twitter ain’t cars. And Twitter ain’t rockets.”

For once, the post didn’t merit a reply from Musk.