Elon Musk softens 'fuck you' comment to woo advertisers

On Wednesday, Elon Musk attempted to retract his comments through which he railed against advertisers who had left his social media platform X.

Speaking on the Cannes Lions promoting festival in Cannes, France, Musk was asked by WPP CEO Mark Read what he meant when he told advertisers who threatened to tug ads from the platform late last 12 months to “fuck off.”

Musk said it was intended as a general reference to free speech reasonably than a commentary on the promoting industry as an entire.

“It wasn't about advertisers as a whole,” Musk said. “It was about freedom of speech. I think it's important to have a global platform for free speech where people with a broader spectrum of opinions can express their views.”

“In some cases, there were advertisers who insisted on censorship,” Musk said. “Ultimately … if we have to choose between censorship and losing money, [or] Censorship and money or free speech and loss of money, we will choose the latter.”

“We will support free speech reasonably than conform to censorship for money, and I believe that’s the appropriate moral decision,” he added.

Musk flew to Cannes earlier this week with the aim of reassuring advertising groups and global brands about the future of X.

He was joined by Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X and former chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBC Universal.

Last 12 months, a few of the world’s largest advertisers, including Apple, IBM, DisneyAnd Sony have pulled their advertising on X after Musk made controversial comments and their ads were placed next to toxic posts.

In November, Musk traveled to Israel to meet with local officials after being accused by civil rights groups of inciting anti-Jewish hatred against X.

The tech billionaire was asked at the time whether the trip was an “apology tour” to advertisers. Speaking on stage at the DealBook Summit 2023 in New York, he said that advertisers who threaten to stop spending on ads on the platform should stop advertising on his platform.

“Don't advertise,” he said in a November interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin. “If someone tries to blackmail me with promoting? Blackmail me with money? Then fuck off.”

Musk backtracked on his attacks against advertisers on Wednesday.

“Of course advertisers have the appropriate to seem alongside content they deem compatible with their brands,” he said. “What isn’t cool is insisting that there may be no content on the platforms that they don't agree with.”

He added: “For X to change into a public space for the world, it should actually be a platform at no cost speech. That doesn't mean people can say illegal things. It's free speech throughout the law.”