“‘This past week, there were hundreds of bogus media stories claiming that I am antisemitic. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.’”
— Elon Musk, owner of XThat’s X owner and Tesla
TSLA,
On Wednesday, Musk posted to X, “You have said the actual truth,” in response to a post that claimed Jewish communities support “dialectical hatred against whites.”
The ensuing uproar and a report by Media Matters that ads were placed alongside pro-Nazi content have led to an advertising boycott on X by a string of companies including Apple
AAPL,
The White House has also leveled criticism at Musk.
A day after Musk’s post, X’s chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, stated on the platform that the social-media group had been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination.”
“There’s no place for it anywhere in the world — it’s ugly and wrong. Full stop,” Yaccarino said.
On Friday evening, Musk posted a fresh comment on X: “At risk of stating the obvious, anyone advocating the genocide of *any* group will be suspended from this platform.”
Musk hasn’t been without his supporters, such as Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman, who stated in a post on Friday that the EV, space and social media executive was “not an antisemite.”
“Musk,” allowed Ackman, “is not perfect, but the world is a vastly better place because of him.”
But the fallout for Musk, who bought X in October 2022 for $44 billion when it was still publicly listed as Twitter, has included pushback from Tesla investors. Investment manager?Ross Gerber said last week that Musk’s damage to the electric-vehicle brand was “absolutely outrageous.”
Shares of Tesla tumbled 3.8% on Thursday, though they managed to finish 9.1% higher on the week. Shares were up 0.5% in premarket trading on Monday.
Opinion:?Elon Musk’s X apocalyptic moment
