Breaking Point: Elon Musk drops the F-bomb on advertisers who left X, says he doesn’t care

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and founder of X, directed with some expletives towards advertisers who had pulled their advertisements from the social media platform due to the presence of antisemitic content, and his alleged support of an antisemitic post.

In an interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, where he was speaking to Andrew Ross Sorkin, Musk expressed regret for a tweet on November 15 that supported an anti-Jewish post, acknowledging that it was a significant mistake and possibly the worst post he had made.

Despite apologizing, Musk adopted a defiant tone, dismissing the idea of being antisemitic and stating that advertisers should not attempt to blackmail him with the threat of withdrawing advertising support.

The conversation proceeded to go like this:

MUSK: “I hope they stop.”

SORKIN: “You what?”

MUSK: “Don’t advertise.”

SORKIN: “You don’t want them to advertise?”

MUSK: “If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f**k yourself.”

SORKIN: “But—”

MUSK: “Go…f**k…yourself.”

“Is that clear?” he went on to say. “I hope it is. Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience,” he added, calling out Robert Iger, chief executive of Walt Disney, which pulled ads on X, and earlier at the event said that Disney doesn’t feel felt the association with X following Musk’s move ‘was not a positive one.’

Musk’s controversial post had agreed with a user who falsely claimed that Jewish people were fostering hatred against white people, referencing the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. The fallout from Musk’s comments led major companies, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, and Comcast, to suspend their ads on X.

Musk defended his commitment to X, arguing that customers should judge his companies based on the quality of their products, citing Tesla’s electric cars and SpaceX’s rockets.

He asserted that he had arguably done more for the environment through Tesla’s massive sales of electric vehicles than any single human on Earth.

The profanity-laden response from Musk raises questions about the impact on X’s brand and relationships with advertisers, with experts suggesting it could be a “closing chapter” for brands doing business with the platform.

Despite the controversy, Musk indicated that he would not pander and remained steadfast in his commitment to X.

Musk’s comments came on the same day that US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned of the escalating crisis of antisemitism, emphasizing its impact on the safety of Jews worldwide and Israel’s future.

The controversy surrounding Musk’s post drew condemnation from the White House, describing it as an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.”

(With inputs from agencies)