Elon Musk Told His Followers to Use Signal App, Leading to 1,100% Surge in Unrelated Stock With Similar Name

When Tesla CEO Elon Musk urged his Twitter followers on Thursday to “use Signal,” he meant the encrypted messaging app. Some people appear to have taken it the wrong way.

Shares of an obscure and unrelated company called Signal Advance, which trades over the counter, surged 527% on Thursday and another 91% on Friday, climbing from 60 cents to $7.19.

The Signal that Musk was referring to is operated by a nonprofit and serves as an alternative to texting apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Apple’s messaging service. That Signal took to Twitter on Friday to clarify that it has nothing to do with Signal Advance.

Is this what stock analysts mean when they say that the market is giving mixed Signals?

It's understandable that people want to invest in Signal's record growth, but this isn't us. We're an independent 501c3 and our only investment is in your privacy. pic.twitter.com/9EgMUZiEZf

— Signal (@signalapp) January 8, 2021