The tweet, which garnered over 500,000 likes in under an hour, was quickly followed by a hashtag campaign: #BoycottABC. Musk’s legions of fans, ranging from crypto enthusiasts to Tesla fanboys, jumped on board, turning the call for a boycott into one of the top trending topics on X.
But the tech mogul didn’t stop there. As if leading the digital charge wasn’t enough, Musk went on to suggest alternative ways to hold future debates. “Why not stream the debates on X?” Musk suggested. “No filters, no biased moderators—just straight talk. We’ll make it happen, and you can bet there won’t be any interruptions when the candidates speak.”
Musk’s crusade against ABC is just the latest in his ongoing feud with traditional media. For years, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has railed against what he sees as corporate media’s bias and inefficiency. Whether it’s calling out news organizations for what he considers unfair coverage of his companies or sparking debates about freedom of speech, Musk has long made it clear that he sees social media and direct communication as the future of news.
And now, Musk has taken things one step further by not just criticizing but actively trying to take down a media titan. “Mainstream media has had a stranglehold on information for too long,” Musk tweeted later in the night. “The people deserve better. We deserve unbiased coverage, not corporate manipulation.”
As you might expect, his followers took up the charge with enthusiasm, with many proclaiming that they were canceling their ABC subscriptions, deleting the app, and even suggesting an all-out ban of Disney+ (ABC’s parent company). “I’m done with them,” tweeted one Musk devotee. “Elon is right. They’re a relic of the past. Time for the people to take control of the conversation.”
As Musk’s call for a boycott spread across social media, reactions from political and media figures were swift. Predictably, conservatives embraced Musk’s message, praising him for “standing up to the corrupt media” and for “taking on the establishment.” The idea of streaming future debates directly through X was met with excitement among Trump supporters, who have long argued that traditional networks unfairly favor their opponents.
