The Real Reason Why Elon Musk Is a Twitter Power User And how you can use his approach to boost your own social media profile.

A whopping 16.7 million people follow Elon Musk on Twitter, where he shares his musings about how artificial intelligence is a danger, updates about progress at SpaceX and Tesla and, lately, jokes about selling merchandise for his latest venture, The Boring Company.

I know it's a little off-brand, but kids love it

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 11, 2017

It's true that Musk is working on a lot of intriguing, high profile projects, but those aren't the only things that make the currently self-described "hat salesman," a Twitter power user. Stacy Minero, Twitter's Director of Brand Strategy, says that in addition to breaking news on Twitter, Musk is adept at using the platform to make his customers and fans feel heard.

"He responds to tweets from everyday followers, which just blows up Twitter because it's like an adrenaline rush when he responds to you. He takes advice," Minero explains. "[He] has this direct connection with users that that makes people feel special and makes them feel like there's a spotlight on them."

But that conversation also extends to actual change. Minero cited one interaction in which a Connecticut-based customer shared with Musk that people were using a Tesla charging station in the area for parking instead of simply charging like they were supposed to.

"[After that tweet,] he instituted a rule that you could charge for 30 to 45 minutes and after that you would incur a fee," Minero says. "So actually listening to feedback from customers as a way to improve either service or products. That's one of the things you can do on Twitter as a CEO, is use it as a live learning lab to actually improve products and services."

Who are some other CEOs and founders you like to follow on Twitter? Let us know in the comments.