Elon Musk has given a rather blunt rebuttal to the numerous companies pulling their advertising from X (formerly Twitter). Chief among them is Disney CEO Bob Iger.
X, Tesla, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is no stranger to inflammatory remarks. Hitting out at opponents like OpenAI founder Sam Altman when he comes under fire.
Earlier this week, a number of major entertainment studios including HBO, Sony Pictures, Marvel, Warner Bros., Paramount and Disney halted their advertising on X. This was in response to a controversial post on the platform from Musk that appeared to agree with remarks that many deemed antisemitic.
Musk gave his response to the incident and the companies who had pulled advertising from X in an interview following The New York Times Dealbook Summit. Specifically calling out Disney CEO Bob Iger, his retaliation was an emphatic: “Go f**k yourself”.
JUST IN: Elon Musk tells advertisers who are trying to blackmail him to "go fu*k yourself." pic.twitter.com/TOOsXok7HX
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) November 29, 2023
Elon Musk responds to advertiser boycott on X
Speaking to Andrew Ross Sorkin, Musk was asked how he was feeling about the advertiser boycott. What he said appeared to shock and amuse the audience.
“Don’t advertise. If someone is going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f**k yourself,” Musk said. “Go f**k yourself, is that clear? Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise.”
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When asked about the potential impacts of the boycott on X, Musk did not shy away from the reality of the situation. “It is going to kill the company,” Musk admitted. “And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company.”
The X CEO did admit that the potential wounds from the holdout were partially self-inflicted, referring to the post that started it all as “one of the most foolish” things he had published to the platform.
“I handed a loaded gun to those who hate me,” Musk explained. “What I am trying to illustrate is that sometimes I say the wrong thing.”
When the topic turned to Musk’s reputation and the damage done by his controversial takes, he responded with indifference. “There is a real weakness to wanting to be liked,” Musk said before finishing. “I have no problem being hated, by the way. Hate away.”