Nicholas Hoult Responds to Elon Musk’s Shocking Tesla Transformation!

Would the true Nikola Tesla please stand up?

In a recent update on X, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk discussed his company’s namesake; however, instead of sharing a photo of the inventor, who passed away in 1943, Musk posted an image from a film about the creator of the Tesla coil — and the actor who took on his role joined in regarding the error(?).

“We named @Tesla after Nikola Tesla, one of the most exceptional engineers of all time,” Musk expressed in a social media post dated Dec. 27, as part of a heated debate among supporters of President-elect Donald Trump concerning the significance of immigration visas. “He was an impoverished immigrant whose innovations led to America’s supremacy in electrical energy generation and utilization.”

Featured alongside the post was a still of Nicholas Hoult depicting Tesla in the film The Current War. Hoult appeared to be flattered by the selection, given that Tesla has also been portrayed in films by David Bowie (The Prestige) and Ethan Hawke (Tesla).

“Clearly, I delivered a very convincing performance here,” Hoult commented on X, referencing Musk’s initial post.

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Besides Hoult’s portrayal of Tesla, The Current War featured Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison and Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse. Helmed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and produced by Martin Scorsese, the film depicted the rivalry among these three innovators of electricity to determine whether direct current/DC (Edison’s system) or alternating current/AC (which Tesla had enhanced) would establish itself as the predominant electric current in the United States.

The Current War made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 9, 2017, and was initially scheduled for a theatrical release that autumn by The Weinstein Company. This plan was delayed following the New York Times‘ exposé regarding years of sexual assault accusations against Harvey Weinstein that came out that October. The film ultimately premiered in 2019. “Despite Gomez-Rejon’s commendable ambition, The Current War  is hindered by an attempt to incorporate too much,” Mary Sollosi expressed in her B-grade review for Entertainment Weekly.

Hoult is currently quite active in the cinematic world. He recently starred in Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2, which was difficult to locate in theaters but is now available for streaming on Max, alongside The Order (now on digital platforms after a limited theatrical run), and Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, which has emerged as a significant holiday success. Next year, he will assume the role of iconic supervillain Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman. The previous film portrayal of Luthor, portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, drew inspiration from tech moguls such as Mark Zuckerberg. Perhaps Hoult has been following Musk’s social media updates and taking notes.