Elon Musk has issued a defiant and profanity-laced message for the advertisers who pulled money from X in recent weeks amid a backlash over his endorsement of an antisemitic tweet and reports of increased hate speech on the platform.
Video of the interview, which was widely circulated, showed that Musk said, “Don’t advertise,” on Wednesday during an on-stage interview at an event in New York. “If someone’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself.”
Musk’s combative remarks came as part of the New York Times’ DealBook Summit. Moments before, the CEO had offered a moment of contrition for his 15 November tweet that endorsed an antisemitic post on X. He said it had been perhaps his worst post in his history of messages that included many “foolish” ones – including a 2018 tweet that cost him $40m in fines from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. (With video) » | Kari Paul | Thursday, November 30, 2023
