Tesla Inc. TSLA and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday made a surprising appearance at the Cannes Lions conference in France. The tech billionaire used the platform to address his previous outbursts and reassure advertisers about the platform’s future.
What Happened: Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual has had a tumultuous relationship with the advertising industry. He was interviewed by Mark Read, CEO of WPP Plc, one of the largest advertising agencies, at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, reported Bloomberg.
Read began by addressing Musk’s previous criticism of the advertising industry, quoting Musk’s expletive-laden message from last November. “Back in November, you had a message for us, you told us to ‘go f*** ourselves,'” Read asked, adding, “What did you mean by that?”
In response, Musk said that his outburst was directed at a specific subset of advertisers who were attempting to restrict free speech. He assured the audience that X, formerly Twitter, had made significant progress in creating a safer environment for brands.
The tech billionaire went on to say that X would always prioritize free speech over profits. He acknowledged that his own controversial behavior on the platform had made some marketers uneasy.
“I do shoot myself in the foot from time to time,” he stated, adding, “If you're constantly going through a filter, now you aren't being real. It's better to be real.”
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Why It Matters: This was X’s return to the Cannes Lions after skipping the event last year. His relationship with the advertising industry soured following his turbulent takeover of X, which led some advertising agencies to advise their clients to pause or reconsider their ads on the platform.
In April earlier this year, Musk revealed the surprisingly low advertising costs on X, hoping to attract more advertisers to the platform. In the same month, he invited advertisers back to X after issues with Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms Inc.’s advertising system were making headlines.
X ceased publicly reporting revenue or profits. However, before Musk’s on-stage comments, the platform was on track to generate approximately $2.5 billion in total advertising revenue in 2023. This figure indicated a decrease of approximately 45% from 2021, the last full year before Musk joined the company, the report noted.
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