Stung by an advertiser boycott and accusations of antisemitism, Elon Musk didn’t cover his harm emotions in an onstage interview on the New York Occasions’ DealBook Summit convention.
“Go f— your self,” he mentioned to the advertisers who’ve fled social media platform X, previously Twitter.
Then, apparently addressing Disney Chief Government Bob Iger within the viewers, he mentioned with a smile and a wave: “Hey, Bob.”
In a wide-ranging dialogue with DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday, the Tesla CEO mentioned the latest advert boycott, the rollout of the Cybertruck, his personal emotional state, a lately introduced union drive at Tesla factories and extra.
The prolonged, meandering interview displayed sides of Musk from combative and smug to philosophical and contemplative.
He apologized for a tweet he made early this month that appeared to publicly endorse a infamous antisemitic conspiracy idea blaming Jewish individuals for selling immigration to disempower white People.
“I’m fairly sorry,” he mentioned. “I ought to on reflection not have replied to that specific publish.”
However Musk appeared much less contrite when requested in regards to the ensuing pullback by advertisers, together with Apple, IBM and Lionsgate Leisure.
“Don’t promote,” he mentioned, calling it “blackmailing” by advertisers. Disney didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Promoting accounts for many of X’s income, and Musk acknowledged that no promoting may imply the downfall of the platform.
“What this promoting boycott goes to do is kill the corporate,” Musk mentioned. “And the entire world will know that these advertisers killed the corporate.”
However, Sorkin requested, in that occasion, wouldn’t or not it’s Musk’s actions that killed the corporate, not these of advertisers? To which Musk retorted: “Inform it to Earth. … Let’s see how Earth responds to that.”
Musk’s feedback in all probability will make life more durable for X chief Linda Yaccarino, an business veteran introduced on to fix the platform’s tenuous relationship with advertisers. However Yaccarino appeared to again Musk’s place in an announcement on X.
“X is enabling an info independence that’s uncomfortable for some individuals,” Yaccarino mentioned. “And right here’s my perspective on the subject of promoting: X is standing at a singular and superb intersection of Free Speech and Important Road — and the X group is highly effective and is right here to welcome you. To our companions who imagine in our significant work — Thank You.”
Musk later mentioned he’s mentioned many “silly” issues on the platform, however the tweet relating to the conspiracy idea “is perhaps one of many worst and dumbest issues I’ve ever achieved.”
At one other level within the interview, Musk turned boastful when talking about Tesla’s electrical car gross sales, which, he mentioned, surpass these of all different automakers mixed.
“I’ve achieved extra for the setting than some other particular person on Earth,” he mentioned. On Thursday, the corporate made its first deliveries of the Cybertruck, an electrical pickup truck that was first unveiled 4 years in the past.
Musk additionally commented on the latest debacle at OpenAI, which he helped co-found.
“It needs to be renamed Tremendous Closed Supply for Most Revenue AI,” he mentioned. Musk mentioned he had “combined emotions” about Sam Altman, who was ousted after which restored as CEO of OpenAI.
With Musk displaying an rising affinity for Republican and right-wing political causes, Sorkin tried to pin him down on his voting plans. How would he vote in a hypothetical face-off between President Biden and Donald Trump within the 2024 election? “I believe I might not vote for Biden,” Musk mentioned.
Musk added that he wasn’t saying he would vote for Trump both, nor would he vote for Nikki Haley or any “pro-censorship” candidate.
“That is undoubtedly a troublesome selection right here,” he mentioned.
Musk was additionally requested a couple of unionization push introduced Wednesday by United Auto Employees at Tesla, BMW, Toyota and several other different main automakers.
“I don’t like something which creates a sort of lords and peasants sort of factor,” Musk mentioned. “I believe unions naturally create negativity in an organization.”