A screenshot from a now-deleted tweet features a deepfake Ryan Reynolds expressing a fervent appreciation for Elon Musk’s automotive company, Tesla. (Photo: Meet Kevin)

American actor and Aviation Gin-owner Ryan Reynolds and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have been seen artificially endorsing each other’s brands in humorous deepfake videos shared to social media last week.

While both of the faux ads have since been deleted from Twitter, we can piece together the general concept of each video based on other reports of the social media interaction.

The initial deepfake video originated from MeetRealKevin, a Twitter user and Youtuber, who posted a clip showcasing Reynolds enthusiastically praising Tesla cars for their affordability and advanced self-driving capabilities, referring to them as “the coolest thing ever.”

As reported by Comicbook, the deepfake Reynolds stated: “How much do you think it would cost to own a car that’s this fucking awesome?” and “Whose balls do I have to fondle to get a Tesla instead of a shit Corolla?”

The creator of this video clarified that the footage did not involve the real Reynolds. Instead, it was meant to serve as a fun project and prospective proposal for future marketing partnerships with the automotive company.

According to reports, the video gained significant traction, amassing over 8 million views, and even caught the attention of Musk, who responded to the post with “nice.”

Nice

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 17, 2023

In response, Reynolds’ ad agency, Maximum Effort, posted a deepfake video depicting Musk promoting Aviation Gin by “speaking glowingly” about the popular spirit brand, according to Comicbook. The caption reportedly read, “Two can court disaster with this game!”

In the same fashion as Musk, Reynolds simply tweeted, “Nice.”

Nice

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) May 18, 2023

Playful brand promotion is nothing new to Reynolds, as in early April, the “Deadpool” star published a comedic ad campaign featuring British-American actor Maxwell Caulfield, renowned for his role as Rex Manning in the film “Empire Records.” The ad heavily played on the idea of a “cult-classic” movie and depicted Caulfield crafting an Aviation Gin cocktail while two assistants behaved in a way reminiscent of cult members.

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