BRIANNA LYMAN
NEWS AND COMMENTARY WRITER
Tesla CEO Elon Musk told off corporate America virtue-signalers Wednesday during the New York Times’ DealBook/Summit with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Musk praised Tesla’s role in clean energy.
“Tesla’s gotten to where it’s gotten with no advertising at all … sells twice as much in terms of electric vehicles, as the rest of the electric carmakers in the United States combined,” Musk said. “Tesla’s done more to help the environment than all other companies combined. It would be fair to say that therefore as the leader of the company, I’ve done more for the environment than any single human on earth.”
“How do you feel about that?” Ross Sorkin asked.
“How do I feel about that?” Musk replied.
Watch my conversation with @ElonMusk: https://t.co/YedkELVhFn
— Andrew Ross Sorkin (@andrewrsorkin) November 29, 2023
“No, I’m asking you personally how you feel about that, because we are talking about power and influence –” Ross Sorkin asked.
“I’m saying 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,” Musk said. “Fuck them.”
Musk also shared his thoughts about companies that pulled their advertisements off Twitter following allegations of anti-Semitism on the platform.
“Don’t advertise,” Musk said. “If someone is gonna try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.”
Apple, IBM, Lionsgate, Paramount Global, Sony and Warner Bros. Discovery all pulled their advertising from Twitter after Media Matters alleged that the companies’ advertisements were appearing alongside antisemitic content. Musk launched a lawsuit against Media Matters claiming their methodology to obtain the results allegedly showing antisemitic content being peppered with advertisements was flawed and defamatory.
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