Popular YouTuber MrBeast, also known as Jimmy Donaldson, recently revealed that his video titled “$1 vs $100,000,000 Car,” uploaded directly on Elon Musk’s X, earned him over $250,000 in revenue.
However, he referred to the experience as a “facade,” explaining that advertisers were drawn to the attention the video garnered and bought ads on it, potentially inflating the revenue per view. MrBeast shared a screenshot of his X account’s analytics, indicating a total revenue of $263,655 from the video.
In a post on X, MrBeast mentioned, “MY FIRST X VIDEO MADE OVER $250,000. But it’s a bit of a facade. Advertisers saw the attention it was getting and bought ads on my video (I think) and thus my revenue per view is prob higher than what you’d experience.”
He also announced a giveaway, stating, “I’m gonna give 10 random people that repost this and follow me $25,000 for fun (the $250,000 my X video made).”
The post generated various reactions, with users discussing the impact of ads and questioning whether Elon Musk himself boosted the video. Some users appreciated MrBeast for acknowledging the ad situation, while others speculated on the real non-inflated payout.
It’s worth noting that X operates differently from YouTube in terms of monetization eligibility. While YouTube requires 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of viewing in the previous year, X users must pay a subscription fee ($8 per month for Premium or $16 per month for Premium+) to be eligible for a share of the advertising revenue.
Initially, Elon Musk invited MrBeast to upload videos on X, to which MrBeast initially refused, citing that his videos cost millions to make and X wouldn’t fund a fraction of the cost. MrBeast’s annual earnings reached $82 million between June 2022 and June 2023, according to Forbes. Despite being active on YouTube since 2012, he gained widespread recognition in 2018 for generous cash donations to lesser-known Twitch streamers and YouTubers, and he is known for his charitable endeavors.