NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Elon Musk is making headlines again for his Twitter use, with Shopify the latest beneficiary.

The Tesla billionaire late Thursday (Jan 28) tweeted that the e-commerce software company was “great” in response to another user’s comment, sending Shopify’s stock up as much as 3.5 per cent in late trading in New York.

Mr Musk has boosted the shares of at least a half-a-dozen companies this month after posting on Twitter, where the Tesla chief executive officer has more than 43 million followers. Recipients of Musk’s tweets include US video-game retailer GameStop, Polish video-game maker CD Projekt, a Japanese toy company and the online marketplace Etsy.

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Mr Musk’s fondness for Twitter previously got him into trouble. He was sued in 2018 by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over posts about a plan to take Tesla private, eventually agreeing to a settlement that included a US$20 million (S$26.6 million) fine and a requirement that he relinquish his role as chairman.

A more than 700 per cent rally in Tesla shares last year help make Mr Musk the world’s richest person, with a fortune exceeding US$199 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.