Apple chief Tim Cook is the latest high-profile figure to join micro-blogging site Twitter.

Tweeting from the @tim_cook handle, the Apple CEO's first message focused on his visit to a nearby Apple Store for the new iPhone launch earlier this morning.

"Visited Retail Stores in Palo Alto today. Seeing so many happy customers reminds us of why we do what we do," Cook wrote.

Cook is gathering thousands of followers by the minute; in just under 10 minutes, he jumped from 8,000 to 24,000, and that number continues to climb.

The account does not yet have the telltale blue checkmark of verification. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but an Apple spokesperson told CNBC that the account does actually belong to Cook. (Update: Cook is verified now)

Cook is currently following 11 people, including Laurene Powell Jobs, the late Steve Jobs's wife, media personalities Anderson Cooper, Thomas Friedman, and Jimmy Fallon, as well as the band Kings of Leon.

Also on the list is the newspaper for Cook's alma mater, Auburn University, and Duke University's basketball team, as well as the RFK Center and its president, Kerry Kennedy.

Two Apple execs also made the cut, Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller. Neither man has been particularly chatty on Twitter, though Schiller did wish people a "Happy iOS 7 Day!" on Wednesday, and re-tweeted Cook's first tweet.

PCMag, meanwhile, was at the flagship Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York this morning, chatting with those who had been waiting days to get their hands on the new iPhones.