Elon Musk had harsh words for companies pausing ad spending on X during an event Wednesday, saying the loss of revenue could ultimately destroy the platform.
“If somebody’s going to try and blackmail me with advertising…go f— yourself,” he said. Musk specifically called out Disney among brands applying pressure through boycotts.
Advertisers fled after Musk shared an antisemitic meme, which he admitted was “foolish” but defended as unintentional. He rejected culpability if X fails financially, instead blaming “the whole world” for judging unfairly.
Musk estimated X stands to lose $75 million by year’s end from reduced advertising alone. While he declined to say if his personal wealth could sustain X, Musk predicted the boycott would effectively “kill” the company.
However, Musk maintained advertisers would shoulder the public blame if X fails under their boycott, not him. He expressed some regret over sharing the inflammatory tweet originally but still defended interactions criticizing groups like the Anti-Defamation League.
The tense comments come at a precarious moment for Musk’s business ventures – Tesla is soon launching its long-awaited Cybertruck amid concerns over demand. However, Musk shows little appetite for appeasing those applying economic pressure over his unpredictable X usage.
