In a startling development, Elon Musk, the owner of the micro-blogging platform X (formerly Twitter), has voiced his ire against advertisers withdrawing their support from the platform at the 2023 DealBook Summit. This comes in the wake of Musk’s disputed posts, for which he later expressed regret, as reported by Cointelegraph.
The incident unfolded on November 29, when Andrew Ross Sorkin, the interviewer, broached the topic of advertisers moving away from the platform. Musk’s response was anything but mild, even addressing Disney CEO Bob Iger, who was reportedly in attendance. A New York Times report suggests that X stands to lose a staggering $75 million in revenue due to over 200 advertisers, including Airbnb, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft, pulling out.
In the run-up to this incident, Media Matters had uncovered advertisements for companies such as Apple, Bravo, Oracle, Xfinity, and IBM displayed alongside posts supporting Hitler and his Nazi Party on X, earlier in November. This led X to file a defamation lawsuit against Media Matters.
Further tightening the noose, a NPR report on November 25 disclosed that X had seen 50 of its top 100 advertisers leave since Musk took the helm. Major brands like Ford, Verizon, Chevrolet, Chipotle, and several pharmaceutical companies such as Merck have withdrawn their advertising over the recent months.
This massive advertiser exodus from X poses significant revenue challenges for the platform. The controversy stirred by Musk’s posts has clearly had detrimental effects, with major brands choosing to distance themselves. The defamation lawsuit against Media Matters further complicates matters, adding another layer of uncertainty to X’s future.