Elon Musk boasts accomplishments, slams critics at New York Times event
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk defended his character at a New York Times book event, saying his critics cared more about public perception than doing actual good in the world.
Elon Musk hit back at his critics at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday, saying he cared more about doing good for the world rather than having everyone like him.
The polarizing billionaire who took over Twitter last year and renamed it X came under fire recently for social media postings critics said were antisemitic and promoted conspiracy theories.
At the New York Times event, Musk apologized for emboldening antisemites, saying that was "not his intention" with the posts, and reaffirmed his support for Israel. He also crudely told off advertisers who threatened to leave the platform over the controversy, telling moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin he had no "problem being hated."
"I’m certainly not going to do some sort of tap dance to prove to people that I am [a decent human being]," he said.
Elon Musk brushed off his critics at the New York Times event. (Getty Images)
Sorkin questioned why Musk would not seem to care what impact advertisers leaving the platform could have on X, as he has taken a more careful approach to leading his various businesses.
Musk appealed to his successful "track record" with SpaceX and Tesla in terms of earning the public and advertisers' trust.
"Tesla's gotten to where it's gotten with no advertising at all," he told Sorkin. "Tesla has done more to help the environment than all other companies, combined. It would be fair to say, therefore, as the leader of the company, I've done more for the environment than any single human on earth."
Musk then took a jab at critics who he said care more about their public perception than actually making a positive impact.
"What I care about is the reality of goodness, not the perception of it. And what I see all over the place is people who care about looking good, while doing evil. F--- them," he told Sorkin.
DISNEY'S IGER ON HALTING X ADS: ASSOCIATION WITH MUSK, PLATFORM NOT A ‘POSITIVE ONE FOR US’
Andrew Ross Sorkin and Elon Musk speak onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2023 on November 29, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images)
Earlier in the conversation, Musk name-dropped Disney CEO Bob Iger when talking about advertisers who threatened to leave the platform over his posts.
"Go. F---. Yourself," he told advertisers. "Is that clear? I hope it is. Hey, Bob, if you're in the audience."
Disney ceased using X for advertising in mid-November, and Iger addressed the move during a separate session with Sorkin at the media event.
The Disney CEO said he had "a lot of respect" for Musk and "what he’s accomplished and not just, you know, one business but a few businesses." However, he felt Disney's association with Musk wouldn't be "positive" for the company.
"[B]y him taking the position that he took in quite a public manner, we just felt that the association with that position and Elon Musk and X was not necessarily a positive one for us, and we decided we would pull our advertising," he said.
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Fox News' David Rutz and Fox Business' Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.
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