Fleeing X advertisers said they don't have a plan on coming back after Elon Musk insulted them during an interview... for now.
Previously, the billionaire was invited to the New York Times' DealBook Summit. He shared what he thinks about advertisers who are criticizing him after he agreed to an antisemitic X post. Although his reply was simple, the words he said were really heavy; saying that advertisers who don't want to spend on the platform because of his conduct can "go f***" themselves.
Fleeing X Advertisers Will Not Return After Elon Musk's Insults
According to The New York Times' latest report, on Thursday, Oct. 30, advertisers who left the social media platform said that they don't have any plan to reopen their funds with X.
Numerous marketing agencies confirmed that the brands they are handling will keep their decision not to advertise on Elon Musk's platform.
Meanwhile, other ad firms said that they already urged their clients not to post on X. Aside from these, multiple marketing agencies said that the temporary spending pauses they implemented in the past few weeks could turn into permanent fund freezes.
"There is no advertising value that would offset the reputational risk of going back on the platform," explained AJL Advisory's Chief Executive and founder Lou Paskalis.
Ever since Elon Musk's antisemitic issue worsened and he began insulting advertisers, over 200 ad firms halted their spending on the social media giant.
Now, analysts say that X is at risk of losing millions of dollars. This is because most of the social media firm's revenue is coming from advertisements; it is predicted that X could lose $75 million this quarter as more and more ad firms leave the platform.
Will CEO Linda Yaccarino's Explanation Ease Tension?
After insulting advertisers, X CEO Linda Yaccarino defended Elon Musk's surprising remarks. NBC DFW reported that the comments made by the billionaire are an "explicit point of view" regarding their position.
"We're a platform that allows people to make their own decisions," said the social media platform's CEO.
She added that X became a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street. Yaccarino further stated that the X community is powerful and will always welcome advertisers.
Linda also thanked X's partners who decided to stay and trust the social media platform. Based on her statements, Linda doesn't disagree with the conduct of Musk.
Instead, Yaccarino believes that Elon said those because X is a true free-speech platform.
