Ackman Stands Up for Musk: Defends Tesla CEO After Controversy
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman came to the defense of Elon Musk following the withdrawal of advertisements by prominent advertisers from social media platform X due to the presence of antisemitic remarks.
Musk faced backlash when he went along with a message that Jews have a “dialectical hatred” of white people. “You have told the real truth,” X’s billionaire owner posted on Wednesday.
That drew criticism from the White House and shareholders of Musk’s only publicly traded company, Tesla Inc., with some investors saying he should be ousted as head of the electric car maker. Advertisers from Apple Inc. to Walt Disney Co. have also suspended or stopped consumption of X.
Ackman, who is the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, is worth about $2.2 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
The hedge fund manager said in October that he would be interested in a deal with X Corp. as part of a new investment vehicle targeting private companies looking to raise at least $1.5 billion and potentially go public, according to the Wall Street Journal. .
Ackman also said he backed the social media platform with a $10 million investment through his company’s foundation.
A frequent contributor on social media, he has called on his alma mater Harvard to take action to combat anti-Semitism.
