Twitter: Fake Elon Musk Scam Spreads After Accounts Hacked .

Several popular verified Twitter accounts have been hacked by scammers to promote an ad using Tesla boss Elon Musk's name and likeness.

British fashion retailer Matalan, film distributor Pathe UK and US publisher Pantheon Books were among those whose accounts were taken over by scam artists.

The scam used promoted tweets - where Twitter is paid by advertisers to make a tweet appear to a wider audience.

The tweets have since been deleted with many accounts recovered, though some were left blank while waiting for their owners to re-enter their name and profile picture.

Scammers targeted several "verified" accounts (denoted with a blue tick) and changed the name and image to that of Mr. Musk.

The tweet then urged users to part with a small amount of Bitcoin - a digital currency - to supposedly receive more.

Several other verified accounts, which were also taken under the scam artists' control, appear in the tweet's comments to claim that they have received Bitcoin from Mr. Musk.

A Twitter spokesperson told the BBC it "doesn't comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons".