Elon Musk tells off ‘blackmailing’ advertisers for leaving X: ‘Go f*** yourself’
Heather Hunter
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Tech mogul Elon Musk slammed advertisers for leaving X, formerly known as Twitter, because of posts on his social media platform.
“Don’t advertise,” Musk said while speaking at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday.
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https://twitter.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1729992177353105799
He added, “If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f*** yourself. Go. F***. Yourself. Is that clear? Hope it is.”
Musk then singled out Disney CEO Bob Iger in the audience by saying, “Hi Bob!”
“The whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company, and we will document it in great detail,” Musk cautioned executives about his fan base.
Musk had more choice words during the summit.
“What I see all over the place is people who care about looking good while doing evil. F*** them,” he said.
https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1730013516034101638
Stephen King, bestselling author and sometimes Musk critic, quipped, “Musk to advertisers: ‘Go f*** yourself.’ Is that his idea of the soft sell?”
https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/1729995522050584781
Musk’s problems began when he responded to a social media post accusing “Jewish communities” of pushing “hatred against whites.”
He responded on his platform, claiming the post “said the actual truth.”
He later elaborated with comments about Jewish groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, which “unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel.”
The White House blasted Musk for promoting “antisemitic and racist hate.”
Large advertisers, including Disney and Apple, suspended their advertising campaigns.
He admitted during the summit that he made a mistake in responding to a post on his platform.
“I should in retrospect not have replied to that particular post,” he said.
Musk said his trip to Israel earlier this week, wherein he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “wasn’t an apology tour” and that it was planned before controversy stirred over his remarks. Musk offered to help Israel in rebuilding Gaza.
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He also said he has “no problem being hated” and that “it’s a real weakness to want to be liked.”
“Hate me, like me, or indifferent. Do you want the best car, or do you not want the best car?” he said.