It was the "F-bomb" heard ‘round the world. Or at least, around every boardroom from Cupertino to Burbank. When Elon Musk sat down with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times DealBook Summit in late 2023, people expected a typical tech-mogul defense of a struggling platform. Instead, they got a masterclass in scorched-earth PR.
"Go f--- yourself."
Musk didn't mumble it. He didn't say it under his breath. He looked directly into the camera—and mentally at Disney CEO Bob Iger—and doubled down. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the world’s richest man decides he’d rather watch his $44 billion toy burn than take a lecture from a marketing department, this was it.
But why did it happen? Honestly, to understand the Elon Musk go f yourself moment, you have to look at the messy weeks of antisemitism controversies, "blackmail" allegations, and a trip to Israel that Musk insisted wasn't an apology tour.
The Moment X Almost Broke
The tension in that room was thick enough to cut with a Cybertruck door. Just hours before Musk took the stage, Bob Iger had been on that same platform. Iger, ever the polished corporate statesman, explained that Disney had pulled its ads from X (formerly Twitter) because the association was no longer "positive" for the Mouse House.
Then came Elon.
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When Sorkin asked about the advertiser exodus—which included giants like Apple, IBM, and Coca-Cola—Musk didn't reach for the corporate handbook. He went for the jugular.
"If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f--- yourself," Musk said. He even paused for effect before repeating it: "Go. F---. Yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is."
He then specifically called out Iger: "Hey Bob, if you're in the audience."
It was a staggering moment of public defiance. In Musk’s mind, the advertisers weren't just customers; they were censors trying to use their budgets to dictate what he could or couldn't say on his own platform.
Why the Advertisers Left in the First Place
It’s easy to focus on the profanity, but the "why" matters. This wasn't a random spat. It started with a post where Musk agreed with a user claiming that Jewish communities were stoking hatred against white people. Musk called it "the actual truth."
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The backlash was instant.
Media Matters later released a report alleging that ads for major brands were appearing next to pro-Nazi content. While X sued Media Matters (claiming the report was manipulated), the damage was done. Big brands don't like their soap and sneakers appearing next to swastikas. They just don't.
The Aftermath: Did the "Go F Yourself" Strategy Work?
Basically, it depends on who you ask. If you're looking at the balance sheet, it was a disaster. By the end of 2023, X's ad revenue had cratered, falling about 50% compared to the year before. Internal documents suggested the company was at risk of losing up to $75 million in revenue from that specific boycott.
But Musk is playing a different game.
The Financial Fallout (2024-2025)
- Revenue Slump: By early 2024, X’s total net revenue had dropped to roughly $2.6 billion. For context, Twitter was pulling in $4.4 billion pre-Musk.
- The "Blackmail" Defense: Musk argued that if the company died because of the boycott, the public would blame the advertisers, not him. It was a "suicide vest" strategy.
- Lawsuits as Sales Tactics: In a move that felt very on-brand, X eventually sued the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), alleging an illegal antitrust boycott. GARM actually shut down shortly after the suit was filed, though they denied any wrongdoing.
Kinda ironically, by late 2025, some reports suggested a slight revenue hike. X started leaning into "agentic AI" and new creator tools. Some brands actually crawled back—not because they loved Musk’s tone, but because the platform’s reach was still too big to ignore.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Outburst
There’s this idea that Musk just lost his temper. Maybe he did. But if you look at his history with Tesla and SpaceX, he has always been hostile toward traditional gatekeepers.
He views advertising as a "tax on being boring." To Musk, the Elon Musk go f yourself comment wasn't just an insult; it was a declaration of independence. He wanted to prove that X could survive as a subscription-based "everything app" (the WeChat model) rather than being beholden to the whims of Madison Avenue.
However, the reality is that "free speech" is expensive. Hosting a global town square costs billions in server fees and staff. When you tell your biggest payers to take a hike, you have to find that money somewhere else. For Musk, that meant aggressive cost-cutting—firing 80% of the staff—and pushing X Premium hard.
Actionable Insights: Lessons from the Chaos
Whether you're a business owner or just a casual observer of the billionaire circus, there are a few real-world takeaways from this saga:
- Brand Safety is Not Negotiable for Corporations: You can't expect a public company with shareholders to fund a platform that makes them look bad. It’s not "blackmail"; it’s basic fiduciary duty.
- The Risks of a "Founder-Led" Brand: When the face of the company is this volatile, the company’s valuation is tied to their latest post. It’s a high-reward, extremely high-risk model.
- Revenue Diversification is Life: X’s struggle shows how dangerous it is to rely on a single revenue stream (advertising) when your product is controversial.
- Watch the "Return of the Brands": Keep an eye on which companies are quietly returning to X in 2026. Often, corporate "morals" have an expiration date when the data shows that users are still active and engaged.
The Elon Musk go f yourself era isn't over. It just moved from the stage at the DealBook Summit into the courtrooms and the balance sheets. Musk showed that he’s willing to let the ship sink before he lets someone else steer it. Whether that makes him a hero of free speech or a reckless businessman depends entirely on if the ship is still afloat five years from now.
If you're tracking the future of X, watch the shift toward AI integration and X's merger with xAI. That's where the real money—and the real story—is moving next.
Next Steps for Understanding the X Business Model:
To see where this is going, look into the specific antitrust lawsuits X filed against the World Federation of Advertisers. These legal battles are the direct extension of Musk's "go f yourself" stance, as he attempts to legally compel a market that he couldn't convince with charm. Also, check the 2025 revenue reports that suggest a 10% hike; they indicate that despite the bridge-burning, X is finding a way to monetize through smaller, direct-response advertisers who don't care about the "Bob Igers" of the world.