La survie de X en question après l’insulte de Musk: Théorie complotiste et boycott d’annonceurs

Elon Musk’s verbal attack on advertisers who are boycotting X (formerly Twitter) threatens to further weaken the social network, with the entrepreneur himself mentioning the disappearance of the platform just one year after taking control.

“They want to blackmail me with advertising, with money? Go f*ck yourself.” The statement, ejaculated by the billionaire on Wednesday during a public interview in New York, continues to resonate.

Elon Musk was referring to the suspension, by several leading brands, of their advertising presence on X. A first wave of advertisers took the initiative in August after the media watchtower Media Matters reported that ads from big names were linked to a neo-Nazi account.

Others have joined them in recent weeks, including Apple and Disney, in response to a tweet by Elon Musk, which relayed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. The majority shareholder of the social network apologized for this message on Wednesday, but immediately went on the offensive against resistant advertisers.

“You don’t need to be an expert to understand that attacking the companies that pay X’s bills is not good for business,” commented Jasmine Enberg, from Insider Intelligence. “Most ad boycotts on social networks have been short-lived, but this one could last.”

Elon Musk himself also mentioned, as early as Wednesday, a possible bankruptcy of the platform. “What’s going to happen is that this boycott is going to kill the company,” Elon Musk warned. “And the whole world will know that these advertisers killed the company.”