Supporting "anti-Semitic" posts, Musk "poked a hornet's nest"
Musk's remarks in support of "anti-Semitism" made him fall into the whirlpool of public opinion again and became the "target of public criticism": the White House criticized, Apple, Disney, IBM and other major customers ran away, and some netizens said that the car was also changed...
The cause of this incident began with a "anti-Semitic" comment made by a user on X, who commented on November 15 local time that the Jewish community had been "promoting hatred against white people". The user said Western Jews had been supportive of the influx of "hordes of minorities" into their country, and now they are "uncomfortably aware" that these minorities don't like them too much.
Media analysis noted that the post appeared to echo the "Great Substitution Theory" — a racist ideology identified by white supremacists who believe that non-white immigrants in the United States and other Western countries are displacing white populations. This theory is often used against Jews who support immigration.
Musk echoed this view in the comment section, saying: "You are telling the truth, and then accused the Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of "unjustly" attacking most Western countries, even though most Western countries support Jews and Israel. This is because, he said, "they cannot criticize the minorities that pose a major threat to them" and said that "this is not right and needs to be stopped".
The remarks immediately sparked a "tsunami of public opinion," with Kara Swisher, a tech journalist and podcaster who has covered Musk for many years, saying that Musk was "inciting hatred and making a difference between expressing one's own opinions and publishing statements aimed at hurting others." ”
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, urgently said that X's attitude has always been very clear, that no one should discriminate against others, and that she is very clear about her responsibility to fight anti-Semitism and limit discrimination.
But Musk's remarks still triggered a series of "seismic" reactions from all walks of life, including Tesla shareholders, the U.S. government, tech giants and consumers.
Tesla's major shareholders condemned one after another
Tesla shareholder Ross Gerber, co-founder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management, said that because of Musk's remarks, he will no longer drive Tesla cars and replace his Model Y with a Rivian, Musk's remarks have seriously affected the brand image. Gerber writes on X:
A reputation that takes a lifetime to build can be ruined in just one day.
One of Tesla's shareholders, Nia Impact Capital, a social impact fund in Oakland, California, called on Tesla's board of directors to condemn Musk's actions and impose penalties on Musk, including "demotion, reassignment, suspension or removal":
Musk's remarks are reprehensible and should not be tolerated. The lack of action by Tesla's board of directors should also be of great concern to investors.
The social impact of this move is inextricably linked to the company's future financial prospects and profits. This behavior can damage the brand image in the long run, causing consumers to be reluctant to buy its products, weakening their already fragile relationships with employees, and negatively impacting future talent recruitment.
But from the perspective of Tesla's stock price, the impact is not great, overnight, Tesla had fallen 3% at the beginning of the session, turned up in early trading, closed up 0.3%, and Tesla's stock price rose 8.47% this week.
The U.S. government condemned
On November 17, local time, the White House accused Musk of "hateful promotion of antisemitism and racist hatred" and "violates our core values as Americans."
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement Friday that Americans "have an obligation to speak out against anyone who violates the dignity of our fellow Americans and endangers the safety of our communities." Bates said:
"A month after the deadliest day of the Jewish death since the Holocaust (October 7) ... The repetition of appalling lies is unacceptable.
We condemn in the strongest possible terms this abomination of fuelling anti-Semitism and racist hatred... We all have a responsibility to unite people against hate, and we have an obligation to speak out against anything that attacks the dignity of our fellow Americans and endangers the safety of our communities."
Large customers such as Apple, Disney, and IBM no longer advertise
In addition to a new round of public opinion "tsunami", the exodus of major customers seems to have begun again.
On November 18, the media quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying that Apple had suspended all advertising on X, Musk's social networking platform, which has been the main advertiser of X.
A day earlier, on Nov. 17, The Walt Disney Company and Lionsgate confirmed that they had suspended advertising on the social media platform X.
IBM said the day before yesterday that it had withdrawn its ads from the X platform. Earlier, a non-profit organization noted that advertisements from IBM, Apple, Comcast and others were placed next to pro-Nazi content on Platform X. The company said in a statement that it has zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination and is investigating this completely unacceptable situation.
In addition, the European Commission has also announced that it will stop advertising on platform X.