In recent weeks, Elon Musk has witnessed major advertisers such as Apple, IBM, Oracle, and Disney halting their campaigns on X following his antisemitic comments on the platform. In a recent appearance at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York, Musk delivered a clear message to these advertisers.
“F***k Off” Last night, during the DealBook Summit, Elon Musk expressed his stance towards advertisers who ceased advertising on X in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin. “If anyone wants to try to blackmail me with advertising or blackmail me with money, go to hell.“
Context. According to The Verge, Musk, in the interview, displayed a mix of regret, acknowledging his mistakes, and defiance towards advertisers. He particularly singled out Disney, taking issue with CEO Bob Iger, who had previously participated in the interview series and expressed a desire to affiliate Disney with Musk. The billionaire seemed to direct his message, especially to him, saying, “To hell with it. Got that? I hope so. Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience.“
X’s potential demise. Musk warned of the real danger his company faces if advertisers do not return to the platform. “What this advertiser boycott is going to do is kill the company,” he emphasized. “That’s what everyone on Earth will know. We’ll leave, and it will be because of the advertiser boycott.”
Over 100 advertisers have halted their ad campaigns on X since Musk’s antisemitic comments, potentially causing the company to lose around $75 million by the end of 2023, according to The New York Times.
Musk regrets his controversial response. On November 15, Musk responded to an antisemitic post on X, stating that the person behind it had spoken “the plain truth.” In the DealBook event interview, he admitted, “Looking back, I shouldn’t have responded to that person.” He then accused the media of capitalizing on a comment he made “without [that] intention.”
Rampant fake advertising. In addition to the issue with legitimate advertisers, X has long grappled with fake posts. In recent weeks, fake messages featuring actors like Martiño Rivas or Antonio Resines endorsing cyber scams have become frequent. The platform needs to address this issue to prevent further damage to its reputation.
Musk rules out a smartphone venture. Besides the controversial topic, Musk also addressed other questions, including whether he was working on a smartphone. “I have too many fish to fry,” he replied. “I think that’s a fundamental challenge mobile manufacturers have right now because you essentially have a black rectangle. How do you improve that?” referring to the difficulty of creating a device capable of surpassing current smartphones.
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