Elon Musk recently endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his social media platform X. As a result, many brands have pulled their advertising from the platform.
Musk apologised for his post at the DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday. However, he did claim that his apology came as a rust of advertisers trying to blackmail him. For these brands he simply said, “Don’t advertise”.
As a result of Musk’s post, brands such as Disney, Apple, and IBM among 200 others stopped advertising on X. Musk’s post on X accused Jewish communities of spreading “hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.”
Advertising counts for a large portion of X’s revenue. If brands continue to pull their advertising and refrain from using X, it could cost the company around $75 million this quarter, reported the New York Times.
Musk did acknowledge that a continued cold-shoulder from brands could possibly bankrupt X but suggested that people would blame brands for the bankruptcy and not him.