Introduction
Elon Musk on Wednesday tried to walk back remarks lashing out at advertisers fleeing his X social media platform.
At the Cannes Lions advertising festival in Cannes, France, Musk was asked by WPP CEO Mark Read what he meant by telling advertisers threatening to pull ads from the platform late last year to yo f yourself
Musk said it was meant as a general point on free speech rather than a comment to the wider advertising industry.
“It wasn’t to advertisers as a whole,” Musk said. “It was for freedom of speech, I think it is important to have a global free speech platform, where people from a wider range of opinions can voice their views.”
Musk stated, “Some advertisers insisted on censorship in certain cases.” In the end, we’ll choose option number two if given the choice between censorship and financial loss, censorship and financial gain, or free expression and financial gain.
We believe it is morally correct to defend free expression rather than consent to be silenced in exchange for financial gain,” he continued.
Musk’s goal when traveling to Cannes earlier this week was to reassure international brands and ad groups about X’s future.
Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X and the previous chairman of global advertising and partnerships, joined him.
The tech billionaire, asked at the time whether this trip was an “apology tour” to advertisers, said onstage at the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York that advertisers threatening to halt spending on the platform should stop advertising on his platform.
“Don’t advertise,” he said in the November interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “If somebody is going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f— yourself.”
Musk retracted his criticism of advertising on Wednesday.
“Advertisers have the right to show up next to content that aligns with their brands.” “Insisting that there can be no content on the platforms that they disagree with is not cool.”
“X better be a free speech platform—that doesn’t mean people can say illegal things; it’s free speech within the bounds of the law—for it to be the public square for the world,” he continued.
Elon Musk’s Softened Approach
Reasons Behind the Reconsideration
Factors influencing Elon Musk’s decision
Analyzing the business implications
Revised Strategy for Engagement
How Elon Musk plans to approach advertisers now
Potential benefits and risks