Elon Musk approved of Shohei Ohtani choosing a Tesla Model X as his first car
Shohei Othani is one of the best baseball players in the world. Now we're learning that Shohei Ohtani also has excellent taste in cars. The Los Angeles Angels superstar recently pulled up to an Angels home game in style, sitting behind the wheel of a Tesla Model X SUV.
The Model X costs over $100,000 (USD), but Ohtani can shoulder the cost. The 27-year-old is getting paid over $4 million annually — a salary bound to leap dramatically once his two-year contract expires in the offseason.
Nobody's happier about Ohtani driving a Tesla than the electric car company's CEO, Elon Musk. Musk became the company's CEO in 2008 and has developed it incredibly ever since. He's one of the richest people alive and also one of the most eccentric. He recently purchased the social media platform Twitter for around $44 billion. Now he's using the platform to show some love for Shohei Ohtani.
Elon Musk reacts to Shohei Ohtani choosing a Tesla Model X
Ohtani's ownership of a Tesla went viral after a Japanese news outlet released footage of the pitcher pulling into Angel Stadium with his brand new whip. A Tesla board member tweeted the video, thus sharing the news with the rest of the world. Here's the tweet and the video. It depicts Ohtani parking his matte black Model X, walking around a little bit, then getting back in and departing.
Major League sensation, #ShoheiOhtani chose #ModelX as his first car!
Good choice, Shohei.
https://t.co/kJyVYFJ7P7
"Major League sensation, #ShoheiOhtani chose #ModelX as his first car! Good choice, Shohei." - @ HIRO MIZUNO
Good choice, indeed. Thousands of users liked and commented on the video, including Elon Musk. He dropped a heart emoji, along with a small Japanese national flag icon. Here's the Tweet.
@hiromichimizuno 💕 🇯🇵
"Replying to @hiromichimizuno" - @ Elon Musk
When one of the world's best baseball players chooses your brand, you know you've got a good product. Musk's reply recieved 507 re-tweets, 391 comments, and 8,371 likes. The billionaire comes by attention pretty easily.
But so does Shohei Ohtani. The reigning MVP is batting .255 this season with eight home runs, 27 RBIs, and five stolen bases. His pitching looks better than ever, too. So far, he's struck out 46 batters over 32.1 innings. He owns a sub-one WHIP at 0.96, and his ERA is just 2.78.
And he now owns a Tesla Model X.