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Elon Musk Rips Into Senator on Twitter: 'Your Real Account Sounds Like a Parody' The billionaire hit back at Senator Ed Markey after he compared to Musk's takeover of Twitter to the 'Wild West.'

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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Elon Musk has made many an enemy since his acquisition of Twitter for an estimated $44 billion.

Even before he expressed interest in owning the company, Musk has been known to use the platform to be contentious with his rivals and trolls, and his latest duel with Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey is no exception.

Markey took to Twitter over the weekend to express his frustration after he claimed that a reporter at the Washington Post made a parody account impersonating him after buying a blue checkmark, going so far as to pen a lengthy letter to Musk to ask him how this happened and how it can be prevented.

"Your Twitter takeover, rapid and haphazard imposition of platform changes, removal of safeguards against disinformation, and firing of large numbers of Twitter employees have accelerated Twitter's descent into the Wild West. That is unacceptable," Markey penned. "Twitter and its leadership have a responsibility to the public to ensure the platform doesn't become a breeding ground for manipulation and deceit."

Not one to take well to criticism, Musk quickly fired back at the senator, likening his account to being a "parody" and making fun of his profile photo.

Musk's two-Tweet response received over 280,000 combined likes.

Markey was quick to quip back, calling out several of Musk's other companies and the current investigations surrounding them, telling the billionaire to "fix" them first before starting fights on Twitter.

The billionaire has also been known to duke it out with Senator Elizabeth Warren via Twitter, as the senator has been adamant about higher taxes on Musk and other billionaires, something Musk adamantly disagrees with.

"You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend's angry Mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason," he said to her on the platform last December.

As of Monday afternoon, Musk's net worth was an estimated $198.8 billion.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

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