NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Rants About Elon Musk on X and Immediately Loses His Blue Verification Check

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's personal X account was reported to be missing its blue tick by Friday, 6 November, two days after he criticised Elon Musk in a post-election video. The apparent change prompted claims that Musk had intervened, but no evidence establishes who removed the badge or why.

The video, published on Wednesday, 4 November, followed Democratic gains in the previous day's US midterm elections. Captioned 'It's morning again in America.', it urged the party to deliver on living costs rather than celebrate its electoral success. The missing badge subsequently became a separate talking point.

Zohran Mamdani Challenges Elon Musk and JD Vance Over Affordability

'Last night's election proved: working people expect more from their government. And they're tired of waiting,' Mamdani said in the video.

The mayor criticised Vice President JD Vance for asking voters to give the administration more time to fulfil its promises. Families facing rent, childcare and grocery bills could not simply put those expenses off for another two years, Mamdani argued.

He then questioned the influence of extreme wealth in American politics, singling out Musk.

'People are tired of being told that there isn't enough to go around while Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire,' Mamdani said.

That remark reflected his political argument rather than an assessment of Musk's current wealth. Forbes estimated that Musk became the first person worth $1 trillion in June 2026 after SpaceX's stock market debut. The publication later reported that his fortune had fallen below the threshold.

Mamdani also accused wealthy political interests of trying to influence the midterms through campaign spending. Those were his allegations, not findings independently established by the video.

The mayor's central demand was directed at Democrats themselves. Having won power, he argued, the party needed to show voters what that victory meant in practice.

'It is not enough to simply win power. We must use it,' he said.

Why Zohran Mamdani's X Blue Tick Was Missing Remains Unclear

By Friday, 6 November, reports and posts on X were drawing attention to the absence of a blue tick beside @ZohranKMamdani. The precise time it disappeared has not been established, making claims that it vanished immediately after his criticism unreliable.

One user asked whether Mamdani had stopped paying for X Premium or Musk had personally intervened. Grok, X's AI chatbot, offered possible explanations but said there was no public evidence Musk had ordered the removal. Its answer did not establish what happened to this account.

X's own published rules provide firmer context. A blue tick now generally signifies a paid subscription and eligibility, not independent verification of identity.

Changes to a profile photograph, display name or username can temporarily remove the badge while the account undergoes review. Subscription changes and breaches of platform rules can also affect its status.

The distinction has attracted scrutiny beyond Mamdani's account. In December 2025, the European Commission fined X over transparency breaches, including what it called the deceptive design of blue ticks. X says it is appealing that decision.

Mamdani's personal profile is also separate from @NYCMayor, the mayor's official account, which can carry a different government designation.

As of the original 6 November report, neither Musk nor Mamdani's representatives had publicly explained the missing badge. No account-specific evidence has emerged from the material reviewed to show that Musk took action against the mayor.