Elon Musk admitted on Wednesday that his tweet endorsing an anti-Semitic post was “one of the silliest” things he has ever done, but told advertisers to withdraw their campaigns in response to “go f*** yours.”
Musk appeared at The New York Times’ DealBook summit and was pressed by host Andrew Ross Sorkin on his November 15 tweet and the resulting fallout.
Companies like Apple, Paramount, Airbnb and Uber pulled their advertising from X — a move that could cost the company $75 million, according to internal X documents.
When asked about his position, Musk said he had “no problem being hated.”
He added: “I essentially handed a loaded gun to the people who hate me.”
Musk complained that the media ignored his attempts to clarify his post, but insisted on his visit to Israel this week. Exploring the areas devastated by the October 7 attack and meeting with the country’s leaders – was not an ‘apology tour’.
Elon Musk appeared at the DealBook Summit in New York City on Wednesday
He said his critics should focus on his work.
“We make the best cars,” he said.
“Whether you hate me, like me or are indifferent, do you want the best car or not the best car?”
He also apologized for his apparent support of white nationalists.
Musk, who has been strongly criticized by the Anti-Defamation League and the Israeli Foreign Ministry for his past comments, responded on November 15 to a man who posted a screed on Combat Anti-Semitism.
The video shows a father talking to his son about the online hate the son has expressed and calling him out for his rhetoric.
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“I’m not at all interested in saying even the slightest bit about the fact that the Western Jewish population is coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities who support the flooding of their land don’t particularly like them.
“You want the truth told to your face, there it is.”
Musk, who has 163 million followers, responded: “You said the actual truth.”
On Wednesday, Musk said, “In retrospect, I shouldn’t have responded to that specific message.”
Elon Musk, pictured in conversation with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on November 2, said the online commentator who accused the Jewish people of hating white people was telling “the real truth.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are seen in London on November 15
Photos of protesters demanding the US government’s call for a ceasefire are seen in New York City on November 15
DailyMail.com reached out to Musk for comment and received a response: “Busy now, check back later.”
Musk has a long history of playing with dog-whistle rhetoric about Jewish people, especially George Soros, who angered him in May by selling his Tesla shares.
He has also angered people with his response to the war between Israel and Hamas.
In the days following the October 7 Hamas terror attack, Musk was forced to delete a tweet that recommended an anti-Semitic account and a promoter of debunked videos as reliable sources of information about the attack on Israel.
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Followers were quick to point out that @WarMonitors has repeatedly used “Jew” as a swear word on the platform and told New York supermarket boss Avi Kaner to “mind your own business, Jew.”
“The man Musk recommended for information about the escalation between Israel and Hamas is an anti-Semitic story with a history of spreading misinformation,” wrote Sam Sokol of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.