Another space launch failed, but it’s the loss of major advertisers on X that has enraged the tycoon
It has been an explosive weekend for Elon Musk. The American billionaire has had to witness not only the public “rapid unscheduled disassembly” of another of his rockets, but also watch while a group of well-known global companies, including Apple, Disney and IBM, pulled advertising from X, his social media platform.
The businesses, all of them household names, made the decision to stop spending on the site, formerly known as Twitter, after the American billionaire’s public support for an antisemitic conspiracy theory. Last Wednesday, Musk replied to a conspiracy post which accused Jews of promoting hatred of white people, noting that it was the “actual truth”. He has since argued that his intended criticism was of specific campaign groups, such as the campaign group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and was not aimed at the wider Jewish community.
This new, costly row surrounding the tech entrepreneur meant that by the time his Starship rocket had come across an unexpected hitch in the Texas skies on Saturday, Musk’s reputation was already under fire. Well before his SpaceX craft’s booster exploded without warning, and all contact was lost with the ascending rocket, the X platform was dealing with a media storm that might also lead to a “rapid disassembly”.
Several other leading brands and public figures have swiftly distanced themselves from the site, despite Musk’s claim that he is being deliberately misrepresented by those who want to “undermine freedom of speech” and damage his platform.
Concerned advertisers, among them the European Commission, Comcast, Paramount TV and the movie studio Lionsgate, have dropped promotional campaigns from X, or are pausing until the owner of the platform further clarifies his position.
