Musk adds more companies to lawsuit challenging X advertising boycott

• Elon Musk is adding more advertisers to an ongoing lawsuit over their decision to boycott advertising on X. The newest companies added include Lego, Nestle, Tyson Foods and Shell.
• In his lawsuit, Musk claims that a group of companies operating under the banner, the World Federation of Advertisers, orchestrated the boycott.
• In 2023, companies including Apple and IBM suspended their advertising on X. A left-wing group found several large companies had advertisements next to posts defending the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler.

Elon Musk added more advertisers to his ongoing lawsuit targeting advertisers that boycotted X, formerly known as Twitter, after he bought it in 2022. Lego, Nestle, Tyson Foods and Shell are among the companies Musk added to the lawsuit this week.

Companies involved in the lawsuit pulled advertising months after Musk purchased the site and loosened its censorship rules.

Musk alleges that the World Federation of Advertisers, a group of companies, violated antitrust laws. Musk says they arranged the boycott and that their actions deprived X of billions of dollars.

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The lawsuit emerged after the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee said last summer that it believed companies acted in a way that reduced advertising dollars for outlets and platforms supporting conservative views.

The organization behind the boycott has since halted its activities.

It’s not the only advertising-related exodus Musk has faced. In 2023, companies including Apple and IBM suspended their advertising on X. It came after the left-wing group Media Matters for America found advertisements for several large companies next to posts defending the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler.

As the companies left, Musk expressed his anger with advertisers, including Disney and its CEO Bob Iger, while speaking at the 2023 New York Times DealBook conference. In no uncertain terms, Musk told companies raising concerns about the site to stop advertising.

“If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f— yourself,” Musk said.

Musk has filed or threatened to file multiple lawsuits in recent weeks. He threatened to sue Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for suggesting Musk performed a Nazi salute at a Trump inauguration event. 

In December, he sued OpenAI, alleging the company he co-founded violated licensing agreements.

And last month, he suggested he would consider suing media outlets that discussed the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Las Vegas hotel without also noting there were explosive fireworks in the car.

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The expanded lawsuit against advertisers comes as multiple outlets report Musk plays a leading role in the Trump administration. He and his allies have gained access to payment systems at the Department of the Treasury.

If the lawsuit is not settled, Musk will have to argue that the businesses were not engaging in protected speech or legally exercising their rights not to advertise on his platforms.