The billionaire reinstated President-elect Donald Trump’s account on X in 2022. via REUTERS “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk said in a post in 2022. The Latin phrase means “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” Musk, the richest person in the world with a net worth of $423.9 billion according to Forbes, has been criticized for taking his “free speech” too far – and X has suffered the consequences. Major brands fled the platform and halted their lucrative advertisements in 2023 after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post. An X account had posted that Jewish communities were pushing “hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them” and “coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don’t exactly like them too much.” Musk replied: “You have said the actual truth.” Elon Musk has become a close ally to President-elect Donald Trump, making major donations to his re-election campaign. REUTERS IBM, Apple and Disney were quick to pause their spending as some of their ads began to appear next to antisemitic posts on the platform. At the time, X faced a potential $75 million in advertising revenue losses, according to The New York Times. In November 2023, Musk hit back at the firms: “If someone’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f— yourself,” Musk said. He then added: “Including Bob,” an apparent reference to Disney boss Bob Iger, who was in the audience. Disney and other entertainment giants reportedly resumed their ad spending on the platform last year. Filed under