Celebrated entrepreneur Elon Musk has delivered a defiant and profanity-laden message to advertisers who withdrew their support from his platform, X, formerly known as Twitter. Speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Musk addressed the recent backlash over his endorsement of an antisemitic tweet and the rise of hate speech on the platform.
In a widely circulated video, Musk exclaimed, “Don’t advertise. If someone’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f*** yourself.” This outburst followed a brief moment of contrition for his November 15th tweet, where he endorsed an antisemitic post on X, acknowledging it as one of his worst posts to date.
Musk’s combative remarks included his dismissal of accusations of antisemitism and a clear message to departing advertisers not to attempt blackmail. He directed explicit language towards those who left X, including an apparent reference to Robert Iger, CEO of Walt Disney, one of the companies that withdrew its ads. Other major corporations, such as Apple, IBM, and Coca-Cola, have also followed suit, potentially resulting in up to $75 million in revenue losses.
The advertiser exodus began after Media Matters, a non-profit organization, published a report revealing major companies’ ads alongside pro-Nazi content on X. Musk responded by filing a lawsuit against the organization. The situation escalated when Musk publicly agreed with an antisemitic tweet accusing Jewish people of “hatred against whites.”
Despite acknowledging the severe impact the advertising boycott could have on X, Musk warned that it could lead to the demise of the platform, which he acquired for $44 billion in 2022. He asserted, “What this advertising boycott is going to do is, it is going to kill the company. And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company.”
Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO, characterized Musk’s interview as “wide-ranging and candid” and extended an invitation to advertisers, emphasizing the platform’s unique intersection of free speech and Main Street.
Musk’s recent actions add to a series of erratic decisions since taking charge of Twitter, causing concern among advertisers, who have traditionally formed the core of the platform’s business. Musk’s trip to Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was explained as independent of the controversy surrounding his tweets, with Netanyahu urging him to find a balance between protecting online free speech and combating hate speech.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
