Speaking at Cannes Lions yesterday (19 June), tech billionaire Elon Musk (known for previously telling advertiser to “go f**k yourself”), Musk clarified that the remark was a comment about freedom of speech.
He was interviewed by WPP CEO Mark Read who asked the X-owner what he meant by the comments and why he said them.
“We’re going to support free speech rather than agree to be censored for money, which I think is the right moral decision,” Musk told attendees and global reporters including from the US at the talk (which for many was a challenge to get in to).
This is the *middle* of the queue for Elon Musk at Cannes Lions ???? pic.twitter.com/GnCOkZ3sPm
— Stuart Dredge (@stuartdredge) June 19, 2024
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He added that he felt some advertisers were insisting on censorship, and said he would always pick “freedom of speech and losing money” over “censorship and money”.
Following on from the talk, Musk, who is flanked by X CEO Linda Yaccarino will inevitably try to win over advertisers, to help bolster the platform which suffered serious setbacks when advertisers including IBM, Disney and Apple quit the platform.
They aimed to avoid association with X after Musk expressed support for a comment deemed to be antisemitic in nature.
Even prior to the controversy, X’s ad revenue was suffering — with advertisers expressing concerns about the impact of the blue tick and more.
