Elon Musk graced the stage at the DealBook conference last Wednesday evening for an in-depth interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin. The discussion covered his remarkable journey, from his life and companies to the more captivating subject of Musk’s recent posts on the “X” website, which were deemed “anti-Semitic,” as reported by The Verge.
During the meeting, Musk admitted his mistakes, but challenged advertisers, saying, “I hope they stop advertising…don’t advertise.” He told interviewer Sorkin that if someone is going to try to blackmail him with ads or money, let him go…and he mentioned an obscene word to express his extreme anger at the attempt to blackmail him.
He singled out Disney CEO Bob Iger when Musk mentioned him, saying, “Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience,” after Iger explained that he did not want to be on stage during Musk’s speech.
Musk considered that if advertisers did not return, “what this advertising boycott will do is that it will kill the company.” He seemed almost resigned to this possibility, saying: “This is what every person on earth will know… We will disappear because of the advertisers’ boycott.”
“The judge is the public.” pic.twitter.com/KMempsHKW3
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) November 29, 2023
Musk’s letter to advertisers came in an attempt to salvage the damage caused by him describing a post deemed anti-Semitic as the “actual truth” two weeks ago. Since then, more than 100 brands have stopped advertising, and the company risks losing $75 million by the end of the year, according to the New York Times.
Musk said about this incident: “In retrospect, I should not have responded to that particular person.” He blamed the media for not covering his clarifications before apologizing, saying: “I handed over a loaded weapon to those who hate me and are arguably anti-Semitic, and for that I am very sorry.” “That was not my intention.”
Musk insisted that his visit to Israel was not an “apology tour” and not a response to criticism of his posts and that he did not mind being the subject of contempt.
His attempt at clarification appears to have fueled the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory he promoted in the first place, in which he blamed a wide range of “people in the Jewish community” for supporting unnamed activist groups.
The entire interview was scattered and at times turned into indifferent reactions from Musk, especially regarding questions regarding his own actions, and the resulting exodus of advertisers, things that could materially affect the “X” platform, giving the impression that he does not care about everyone. This controversy.
