Genshin Impact tried to hold an Elon Musk challenge, and the community wasn't impressed

A bizarre Genshin Impact PR stunt involving Elon Musk appears to have been canceled after community backlash.

Earlier today, the official Genshin Impact Twitter account told fans that in celebration of two million followers, it would be hosting a community challenge. That challenge asked players to follow another account - named Ella Musk - with 'rewards' unlocked at certain follower counts.

To host the challenge, the official Twitter account, previously named Paimon after the game's helpful companion, proposed the first reward tier: unlocked at 500,000 followers, it would see the name reverted back to its original state. At one million followers, the official account would follow Musk on Twitter. At three million, Musk would be invited to stream the game, and at five million invited to visit the MiHoYo headquarters.

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It's difficult to see how the first two tiers constitute rewards for the community, and depending on your view of Elon Musk, potentially tricky to find the value in the third and fourth rewards either. Unfortunately for MiHoYo, players don't seem to have been particularly impressed by the challenge. The tweet has already been deleted, presumably spelling the end of the challenge, but the community is still making its feelings known.

One Twitter user said that the community would "never forget" the challenge, while a popular updates account celebrated the deletion of the message. Over on Reddit, the top comment on the post embedded above asks if the tweet was a joke, with others suggesting that the move makes the game look out of touch. Musk himself seems amused, however, recently telling his followers that he "can't wait to be in Genshin Impact."