Elon Musk, the genius multi-billionaire at the helm of X, claims that the company may be driven to extinction due to major advertisers pulling out from the platform. Musk issued this dire prognosis during his recent appearance at The New York Times' Dealbook Summit.
The exodus of advertisers from the platform, formerly known as Twitter, started after Musk endorsed a controversial statement on the platform. Musk was interviewed at the summit by Times' reporter, Andrew Ross Sorkin where he warned, "And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company."
Disney's Chief Executive Officer, Bob Iger, had earlier expressed his decision to cease advertising on X at the conference. This was in direct response to Musk's support of an antisemitic comment made on the platform. Iger stated that Disney "felt that the association was not necessarily a positive one for us."
Musk's retort to Iger was far from conciliatory. Musk bluntly said, "Go f--- yourself, is that clear? I hope it is. Hey Bob, if you're in the audience. That's how I feel. Don't advertise."
The advertising backlash against X started earlier this month when Musk agreed with a post that propagated an antisemitic stereotype suggesting that Jews promoted hostility against White people. Disney, Apple, Coca-Cola and various other companies promptly withdrew their paid advertisements from the platform in the aftermath of Musk's controversial endorsement.
This mass departure of advertisers could potentially cause a revenue dip of as much as $75 million for X, as per a report from The New York Times.
Despite the negative fallout, Musk remained defiant, albeit with a hint of regret. "Still, it was one of the most foolish things I've ever done," he confessed Wednesday about his impulsive reply to the disputed post. "I am quite sorry," he added, "I should in retrospect not have replied to that particular post."
