Elon Musk tells his 44.8 million Twitter followers he's stepping away from the platform 'for a while'

• Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday he was "off Twitter for a while."
• Gamestop, Etsy, and a Japanese video-game maker have all seen share gains following recent tweets from Musk.
• This isn't the first time Musk has said he's taking a Twitter break. He also said he was stepping away in June 2020 — he returned two days later.

Billionaire Elon Musk, whose tweets have impacted the stock market over the past week, announced Tuesday that he was taking a break from Twitter.

"Off Twitter for a while," Musk tweeted to his 44.8 million followers, but gave no further details.

This break may not last long. The last time Musk announced he was stepping away from Twitter was in June - he stayed away for two days. In 2019, he said he was quitting the social media site only to return three days later.

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The SpaceX and Tesla CEO's recent tweets have had a big impact on the stock market. On Sunday, Musk tweeted he was "on Clubhouse tonight at 10pm LA time." Shares of Clubhouse Media Group shot up and rallied about 45% Monday - even though this wasn't the company that Musk tweeted about. He was referring to the privately owned Clubhouse audio app, known for hosting Silicon-Valley leaders and celebrities.

Bitcoin surged as much as 15% on Friday after Musk added "#bitcoin" to his Twitter bio. Musk later posted a tweet saying: "In retrospect, it was inevitable."

Gamestop shares exploded another 157% on Wednesday, January 27, after the tech billionaire tweeted "Gamestonk!!" in after-hours trading on Tuesday.

Online marketplace Etsy rose by about 3.5% on January 26, minutes after Musk tweeted "I kinda love Etsy," adding that he bought a hand-knit woolen 'Marvin the Martian' helmet for his dog.

And on January 13, shares of Bandai Namco, a Japanese video game maker, jumped 4% after Musk tweeted a meme that included a character from one of its games. "Hey you ... Yeah you Queen ... You're gonna make it!" he tweeted, adding heart emojis.