Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has intensified his attack on Disney CEO Bob Iger following a major advertising boycott against Twitter, which Musk now owns and rebranded as X.
The controversy began in November when Musk appeared to endorse an anti-Semitic post on X, sparking widespread backlash and leading many companies, including Disney, to suspend advertising on the platform.
Musk initially apologized for his comments, calling them “one of the most foolish if not the most foolish” things he had ever done. However, he later shifted his focus to criticizing the advertisers, accusing them of “blackmail” designed to “kill the company.”
On Thursday, Musk further escalated the situation by targeting Iger directly. Citing a lawsuit against Meta (formerly Facebook) regarding child exploitation material, Musk slammed Iger for choosing to advertise on Meta’s platforms while boycotting X.
“Bob [Iger] thinks it’s cool to advertise next to child exploitation material. Real stand up guy,” he tweeted, followed by, “He should be fired immediately. Walt Disney is turning in his grave over what Bob has done to his company.”
This direct attack marks a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between Musk and the advertising industry. While Musk claims the boycott is an attempt to silence him, critics point to his history of controversial statements and his handling of content moderation on X as reasons for their concerns.
According to internal documents obtained by The New York Times, X is expected to lose approximately $75 million in revenue from advertising by the end of December. This significant financial impact underscores the gravity of the situation and the potential consequences for X’s future.
The situation remains fluid, with no clear resolution in sight. It will be interesting to see how Iger responds to Musk’s personal attacks and whether the advertising boycott against X will continue.
Furthermore, the long-term impact of this controversy on X’s business and public perception remains to be seen.
