He laid off the platform’s content moderation teams, and he posts right-wing conspiracy theories and other politically inflammatory content.
These actions create an uncertain climate for advertisers, and they have other options for reaching their audience, including TikTok and Snapchat. As a result, huge brands including Unilever and CVS Health have stopped spend usa number list ing money to promote products on X. In late 2023, Musk responded to what he saw as “blackmail” by advertisers with a foul-mouthed tirade that included the immortal phrase, “I don’t want them to advertise.”
Except, Musk does want them to advertise. In 2024, X launched a lawsuit against a group of brands that it claims has orchestrated an illegal boycott of the platform.
Nonetheless, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Musk is missing the point. Individual brands have taken the decision to avoid the platform based on their own business goals and sound investment rationale. This has led to damaging headlines for X.
Online companies ranked by total digital advertising revenue 2012 to 2021 (Statista graph)
That said, X remains an important channel for brands. It is where a lot of brand conversations happen and there is potential for it to offer an advertising alternative to Meta, Google, and Amazon. The nature of communication on X, where news breaks and conversations start, is still distinctive. Numerous new entrants have tried to take advantage of mis-steps by Elon Musk to capture this audience, ranging from Mastodon to Meta’s Threads.