MrBeast, a popular YouTuber, Jimmy Donaldson, is accustomed to analyzing the pros and cons of products in his videos — all on YouTube. He’s testing out another comparison right now: YouTube vs. X.
On Monday, Donaldson published his first video straight to X. This was one he had uploaded of his September original YouTube video, “$1 vs $100,000,000 Car!” This video was uploaded on YouTube and has amassed an incredible 211 million views.
“I’m curious how much ad revenue a video on X would make, so I’m reuploading this to test it. Will share ad rev next week,” Donalson said in an X post.
By Tuesday morning, the video had at least 52 million views on X, and there are many more now.
Elon Musk is attempting to recruit media figures and artists to transform X into a “video-first platform.” In a blog post published on January 9, X declared it will keep funding content partnerships, producers, and original content beyond 2024.
Last week, X said it plans to introduce three new shows, with former CNN anchor Don Lemon, former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, and sports radio analyst Jim Rome as the hosts.
Donaldson will likely join X — he is an Elon Musk fan
The hope for Musk’s X business is that he can convince Donaldson to switch from YouTube to X, which would be a significant success for Musk. Donaldson, also known as Mr. Beast, has become a well-known and lucrative figure on the internet in recent years, largely due to his YouTube channel, which has more than 231 million members.
Jimmy Donaldson expressed his high-range goals, saying that working alongside Musk was actually something he always dreamed about and hoped to do. Donaldson even mentioned that he hopes to one day equal Musk’s achievements.
Since X started paying creators a portion of their earnings in July, Musk has promoted the platform as a haven for creators. After Donaldson hinted at a fresh YouTube upload in an X post, Musk first recommended that Donaldson submit videos to X in December.
“My videos cost millions to make, and even if they got a billion views on X it wouldn’t fund a fraction of it — I’m down though to test stuff once monetization is really cranking!”
Celebrating the “first MrBeast video posted directly on X!” Musk reshared Donaldson’s video. The message was also praised by X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, who wrote, “Achievement unlocked and a lot more to come!”
Deanna is the Managing Editor at ReadWrite. Previously she worked as the Editor in Chief for Startup Grind and has over 20+ years of experience in content management and content development.
