Tesla is now the leading automaker in terms of social media followers on Twitter. The American company dethroned Mercedes-Benz earlier this week, who now has to settle for second place with roughly 3.04 million followers to Tesla's 3.05.

As it stands Wednesday afternoon, Tesla has 3,044,977 followers compared to 3,036,686 accounts following Mercedes-Benz. In comparison, the Ford Motor Company and Chevrolet official Twitter accounts have 1.13 and 1.04 million followers, respectively. Sadly, General Motors' following is almost insignificant considering it doesn't even breach the six-figure mark. However, some of these brands have quite a few breakout pages, so people can follow certain niches within both companies like Chevy Performance, Ford trucks, etc.

Shakeups in leadership, lawsuits from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), smoking weed with Joe Rogan, and other headline-grabbing behavior on behalf of Tesla CEO Elon Musk is largely to thank for the brand’s popularity. After all, who wouldn’t be interested in the shenanigans of a feisty billionaire who plans on sending tourists into space? And speaking of space, SpaceX has 7.48 million followers while Musk himself has a whopping 23.2. Combined, all of Musk's enterprises have 23,212,652 followers anxiously waiting to see what the unpredictable businessman has to say next.

Not everything is hype in the world of Tesla, as its Model 3 was the fifth best-selling car in August, beating out popular players like the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra, and Musk's behavior has also been much more reserved in recent weeks.

In a nutshell, the popularity of Tesla's social media presence is likely a combination of good marketing, a cult-like following of its products, and a big pinch of controversy.

h/t: Inside EVs