https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1leGqE70MLE&ab_channel=
If somebody's going to try to Blackmail me with advertising blackmail me with money go to fuck yourself. -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kala1B1IO0&ab_channel=
you we've been friends for 16 years um
and I promised you I'd be here and
that's why I'm here well I appreciate
you being here for any other reason but
let me ask you this this then let's go
go at it just tell me what happened you
you you write this tweet that says that
this is the actual truth people read
that tweet yes and they say Elon Musk is
an anti-semite that he he he he is he is
riing up this base you're hearing it
from uh as I said the White House you're
hearing it from Jewish groups all over
um I think Jonathan greenl from the ADL
is here um there's there's lots of
people who say this and by the way it's
not just that did you read the whole
thing I did and that's why I want to ask
you responses excuse me I said more more
responses yeah I said more I said more
than what you just WR yes no there was
ABS there was absolutely more yes um but
I'll tell you the thing that struck me
it wasn't um and I'm an American Jew um
it wasn't just the people who who had
the that view it was actually people who
ha who really are anti-semites who said
goodness go go Elon this is
fabulous and that actually was the thing
that really uh really set me back and I
said to myself what's going on here and
I want to know how you felt about that
in that moment when you when you saw all
happening yeah um well first of all I I
did clarify uh almost immediately uh
what I meant I would say that that was
um you know if I could go and say I
should in retrospect um not have replied
to that particular person um and I
should have uh written in Greater length
as to what I meant um I did subsequently
clarify it in replies uh but those
clarifications were ignored by the media
um and essentially I handed a loaded gun
to those who hate me um and arguably to
those who are antisemitic uh to for that
I'm quite sorry that that is not that
was not my intention um so I I did you
know uh post on my primary timeline to
be absolutely clear that I'm not
anti-semitic um and that I in fact if
philosemitic um and the trip to Israel
was planned before any of that happened
uh it was neither here nor there do you
see see this thing do you know what it
is I do because I actually followed your
entire trip to Israel right why don't
hostages it was given to me by the
hostages and I said I would wear it as
long as there was a hostage store
have um what was that trip like and
obviously you know that there's a public
perception that and and you're
um but there's a public perception that
that was part of a apology tour if you
will that this had been said online
there was all of the criticism there was
advertisers leaving we talked to Bob
Iger today stop you hope don't advertise
you don't want them to advertise no what
mean if somebody's going to try to
Blackmail me with advertising black m
clear I hope it is hey Bob here in the
audience well well let me ask you
then that's how I feel don't
advertise how do you think then about
the economics of of x if if if if part
of the underlying model at least today
and maybe it needs to shift maybe the
answer is it needs to shift away from
advertising um if if you believe that
this is the one part of your business
where you will be beholden to those who
FY I I I understand that but there's a
right yes no no Linda Yaro is right here
and she's got to sell advertising
absolutely so um no no to totally so so
what no actually what what does
advertising boycott is uh is is going to
do it's going to kill the
company and do you think that the I but
and the whole world will know that those
advertisers killed the company and we
will document it in great
detail but there those advertisers I
imagine are going to say they're going
to say we didn't kill the company oh
yeah they're going to say tell to tell
to Earth but they're going to say that
they're going to say Elon that you
killed the company because you said
these things and that they were
and they didn't feel comfortable on the
platform right that's that's what
they're going to say and let's see how
that so let me okay this then this goes
back to we we'll both make our cases
right and we'll see what the outcome is
what are the economics of that for you I
mean you you have enormous resources so
you can actually keep this company going
for a very long time would you keep it
going for a long time if there was no
advertising I mean if the company fails
because of an ad advertis boycott it
will fail because of an boycott and that
will be what bankrupted the company and
that's what all everybody on Earth will
know what do you think then of the
against goes back to the idea of trust
though then it'll be gone and it'll be
gone because of an advertised
boycott but but you recognize that some
of those people are going to say that
they didn't feel comfortable on the
platform and I I wonder I just wonder
and ask you and think about that for a
second tell it to the judge but the but
the judge is going to be the judge is
public and you think that the public
public is going to say that that Disney
mistake yes and they're going to boycott
Disney they already are well there there
are some that are for for for lots of
different reasons but you think that
this is going to that you have the this
goes to actually the interesting of P of
of power and leverage let the chips fall
may let the chips fall where they may
can I ask what why that is the approach
and I ask it because you've been
approach well you've been very
particular about the I mean the approach
to Tesla uh when you think about the
engineering involved in that the
approach to SpaceX the approach to um
some of the stuff you're doing with with
AI has been very specific right there's
not a let let the chips fall where they
may approach to those businesses I don't
think no we focus on making the best
products and and and Tesla is gotten to
where it's gotten with no advertising at
all I understand that Tesla currently
sells two twice as much uh in terms of
electric vehicles as the rest of
electric car makers in United States
combined Tesla has done more just help
the environment than uh all other
combined would be fair to say that
therefore as a leader of the company
I've done more for the environment than
everyone any single human on earth how
that how do feel about that yeah no I'm
I'm asking you personally how you feel
about that because this goes we were
talking about power and influence and
I'm saying I'm saying what what I care
about is the 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
okay let me ask you this because I think
part of this by the way there's some
people who said look owning X to begin
with has just created problems that
you've created so many amazing things
that are changing our world and and and
I know you want to uh make X this
fabulous Town Square fre Free Speech
platform but that unto itself that that
has created such a distraction of all of
these things this is the conversation
we're having we're not focus or not
talking at least yet and we will on
Tesla you have your cybertruck uh
deliveries tomorrow and everything else
that you're doing but there it would be
the biggest product launch of anything
by far on Earth this year is is there
any part of you though that just says
you know what I just shouldn't have done
this or maybe I should sell it or give
it away or do something else w w with
the with the X piece of it yeah given GI
given the propensity for some of the
things that you do and say on that
platform to create these these
yeah of all the posts I've done on the
platform I think there might
be 30,000 or something like that right
while I will say something
foolish and I have and I would certainly
put that comment um that youve said the
actual truth uh among perhaps one of the
most foolish if not the most foolish
thing I've ever done on the
platform um and I did do my best to
clarify uh afterwards that uh you know I
I certainly do not mean anything
anti-semitic in that um the the nature
of the criticism was simply that um the
Jewish people have been persecuted for
thousands of years there is a natural
Affinity therefore uh for persecuted
groups um this has led to the funding of
uh essentially promote any persecuted
group or any group with the perception
of persecution this includes radical
groups everyone here has seen the the
massive demonstrations mhm for Hamas in
organizations received funding from
prominent people in the Jewish Community
they didn't expect that to happen it it
condition sort of fund if you if you
fund persecuted groups in
general some of those persecuted groups
Annihilation and what I what I meant by
that when I subsequently clarify it is
is that it's unwise to to to find
organizations that support groups that
Annihilation is this coming across
clearly my my question to you though is
I think logically this is makes a lot of
sense is there any part of you I me just
tell me what happens though when once
all this happens let's say you found a
group and that group supports a mass who
wants you to die perhaps you should not
you you you do appreciate that when you
wait into these very delicate Waters at
these very delicate times yes that it
can create a real I mean as it created
headlines for for the past two weeks and
impact what what I'm just so curious
what H in your brain when you see all
this happening are you sitting there
going oh my God I stepped in it I wish I
didn't do that are you saying screw them
I hate these people why are they after
mean I mean look I I'm sorry for that
that that tweet or post it was foolish
of me of the 30,000 it might be
literally the worst and dumbest to post
that I've ever done um and I try to my
best to clarify six racis Sunday um but
you know at least uh I think over time
it will be obvious that in fact far from
being uh anti-semitic I'm in fact
philosemitic um and my all the evidence
uh in my track record would support that
let me ask you this though there are
people who say crazy things on on X as
you know um maybe you think they're
the the the the the aspiration for X is
to be the global Town Square now if you
were to walk down to let's say Time
um do you occasionally hear people
saying crazy things yes but they're not
but they don't have the megaphone right
and that's that's the conundrum they can
only say it to the 50 or 100 people that
are that are sitting standing there in
Time Square they don't have a mega I
mean look the joke I used to make about
old Twitter was it was like giving
everyone in the psy a me phone um so uh
you know I'm I'm I'm aware that things
can get promoted uh that are negative
beyond the sort of Circle of of somebody
simply screaming crazy things in Time
Square which happens all the
the it's it's actually it's it's pretty
rare for something um frankly that is uh
hateful to be promoted it's not it's not
it's not that it never happens um but
it's it's fairly rare um I mean I would
encourage people to look at for those
that use the system when you look at the
the sort of the feed that you receive
how how often is it is it hateful and
over time has it gotten more or less
hateful and I would say that if you look
at uh the X platform today versus a year
ago I think it is actually much better I
mean what is your personal experience
are you surprised I'm just curious you
use this I use the platform uh
religiously I I to being an addict and I
use the for you and I will I will say
now the the problem is because I'm a
journalist I go looking for stuff well
that's I'm just saying and and and
because I and and I I also think the
algorithm for me personally because I'm
looking for stuff also is feeding me
other things well this this this is
actually a challenge in that like
sometimes people will say like why is it
uh you know posts from this person that
I hate and then we were like well did
you interact a lot with this person that
you hate well yes well therefore thinks
that you want to interact more with this
person that you hate that's like a
reasonable let me ask you know you kind
of want to have an argument when you
tweet yeah do you ever or post let's say
post when you post listen I'm open if
anyone can come up with a better word uh
that would be great when you post though
but uh the least bad word I can think of
is post it's when you post though do you
are you trying to rile up either a base
or an audience do you do you do you
recognize the power you have in that and
and also by the way not just rile up
rile up one version of side of it but
also rile down which is to say as I said
there are people who are demonstrably
anti-semitic on on the site who I I get
Jew boy things and all sorts of things
that come my way hey for a while they
thought I was Dosh so they would you
know I'd get it too but but no but the
question is is super do you ever think
to yourself you know what I'm going to
go online and I'm going to say these
people I condemn these people that are
on my site saying these things because I
have said I have you say I've condemned
and but do you ever go yeah I said I I
literally I literally posted I condemn
anti-Semitism in all its forms like that
is a literal I believe literal post that
I made um I mean I'm like listen if I
can get out the thesaurus if you you
you know let me ask you a different
question you you you you compose it I'll
post it okay let me ask you this um you
um you were on a you were on a podcast
uh about a month ago and you said
something that that struck me um and it
struck me as accurate came out of your
mouth so uh hopefully it is but it I'm
hoping we go deep on this just because
it came out of my mouth does not mean
it's true but you said you said my you
storm I don't think most people would
want to be me they may think they want
to be me but they don't know they don't
understand what did you mean by that
what was what your mind being a storm
and I think it I mean I have known you
for quite some time I think it is a bit
um yeah I mean I in as much as a a
weather metaphor makes sense
um my mind is often feels like a like a
like a very Wild Storm um I mean I have
I have a fountain of ideas I mean I have
more ideas than I can possibly execute
um so I have no shortage of ideas
Innovation is not the not the problem
execution is the problem I've got a
million ideas I mean I've got an entire
design for an electric suponic vertical
takeoff jet but I I mean I just if I I
just can't do that as well I've had that
um um I there's a million things is your
no it's not a Happy Storm
no tell us about that because I I think
that that actually when people try to
really understand you I think that
there's a lot of this comes from some
other place and I I want to talk about
that what do you think that