“What this advertising boycott is going to do is kill the company,” Musk told a crowd of business executives and journalists gathered at Lincoln Center in Manhattan; the conference was also broadcast live online. If X goes bankrupt, the public will blame the censored advertisers, not him or his actions, Musk said, promising not to give in to pressure from outside companies or critics.
“Let the issues fall where they may,” he said.
X has faced repeated boycotts from advertisers since Musk bought the platform a year ago and pledged to make it a haven for free speech, while laying off most of the company’s moderation team. But when Musk responded to a user who accused Jewish communities of engaging in anti-Semitism by saying “you told the real truth,” the departures are accelerating.
In the interview, Musk said the comment was one of the stupidest he’s ever made and said he was not an anti-Semite.
Musk’s statement comes at the start of a lengthy interview in which he also talks about his mental health, points out that he is often wrong and says that as head of electric car maker Tesla, he has done more for people. environment than “any other manufacturer”. human on earth.
He said he would not vote for President Biden and repeated his previous comments that he was upset that Tesla was not invited to the White House for discussions on electric vehicles. Deciding between Biden and the former president Donald Trump would “certainly be a difficult choice,” he said.
Musk received the governor of Florida. Announcement by Ron DeSantis of his presidential candidate campaign on X, but has yet to specifically endorse anyone for the 2024 elections.
The interview covered several topics, from politics to artificial intelligence to Musk’s mental health. He said his mind “often feels like a very wild storm.”
He sidestepped questions about whether his massive wealth gives him special power in the world and whether he is beholden to China because the country is an important market for Tesla. When asked if he thought TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media app, should be banned in the United States, he said he doesn’t use the app.
Earlier Wednesday, the United Auto Workers Union said it was considering unionize Tesla workers. At the conference, Musk said he opposed unions because they created adversarial relationships within a company.
“I don’t like anything that creates some sort of relationship between lords and peasants, and I think unions naturally try to create negative in a business,” he said. “If Tesla unionizes, it will be because we deserve it and it has failed in one way or another.”
