Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, offered a candid retort to advertisers withdrawing from the social media platform he owns, during his appearance at The New York Times DealBook Summit. “Go f— yourself,” Musk stated bluntly on Wednesday afternoon while discussing the implications of the advertiser boycott with Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Musk expressed concern that the boycott could be detrimental to the platform’s survival, placing the blame on advertisers for any potential downfall. When Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, was mentioned for his decision to halt the company’s advertisements, Musk responded with a brash challenge, dismissing the leverage of advertising dollars over his decisions with a profanity-laced message.
Additionally, Musk addressed a previous endorsement of a post that contained antisemitic undertones, an action that has led to heightened criticism and has been cited as a reason for the recent withdrawal of advertisers. This acknowledgment from Musk occurred shortly after his visit to Israel, where he engaged with victims of Hamas attacks and met with national leaders.
The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has cast a spotlight on the content of the social media platform, prompting concerns from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League over the presence of antisemitic rhetoric. The platform has seen a number of major corporations, including Disney and IBM, pause their advertising in response to a report linking their ads to objectionable content. In retaliation, the platform has initiated legal action against the organization behind the report, accusing them of deliberately attempting to diminish the platform’s advertising revenue and threaten its financial stability.