Elon Musk on Advertisers, Trust and the “Wild Storm” in His Mind.

Elon Musk has made several controversial statements about advertisers in recent months. In November 2023, he lashed out at advertisers who had pulled their ads from X, formerly known as Twitter, following an increase in hate speech on the platform. He called the advertisers’ actions “blackmail” and said, “If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f— yourself.”

Musk has also criticized the effectiveness of advertising in general, saying that it is often “manipulative” and “deceitful.” He has said that he believes that X should be a platform for “free speech” and that he does not want to censor content that is offensive to some people. However, he has also said that he is committed to combating hate speech and harassment on the platform.

Musk’s comments about advertisers have been met with mixed reactions. Some people have praised him for standing up for free speech, while others have criticized him for being insensitive to the concerns of advertisers. It remains to be seen how Musk’s views on advertising will affect X’s business in the long run.

Timeline of Elon Musk’s life:

1971: Born in Pretoria, South Africa
1989: Moved to Canada to attend Queen’s University
1992: Transferred to the University of Pennsylvania
1997: Received bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics
1999: Co-founded X.com (later became PayPal)
2000: PayPal acquired by Confinity
2002: Founded SpaceX
2003: Co-founded Tesla Motors
2008: Stepped down as CEO of Tesla to become chairman
2015: Returned to position of CEO of Tesla
2016: Founded Neuralink
2016: Founded The Boring Company
2022: Acquired Twitter

Elon Musk Quotes

“SpaceX is only 12 years old now. Between now and 2040, the company’s lifespan will have tripled. If we have linear improvement in technology, as opposed to logarithmic, then we should have a significant base on Mars, perhaps with thousands or tens of thousands of people.” ~Elon Musk
“Marketers have a number of major platforms to choose from and they would tend to gravitate to those that don’t tell you to f-off” ~Jonathan Miller
“Generally, the view that I’ve had on Twitter is if you’re on Twitter, you’re in, like, the meme – you’re in meme war land. If you’re on Twitter, you’re in the arena. And so, essentially, if you attack me, it is therefore OK for me to attack back.” ~Elon Musk
“Our principles do not have a price tag, nor will they be compromised — ever,” she wrote. “And no matter how hard they try, we will not be distracted by sideline critics who don’t understand our mission.” ~Linda Yaccarino, X’s Chief Executive