Walmart announced on Friday that it will stop advertising on Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"We aren't advertising on X as we've found other platforms to better reach our customers," a Walmart spokeswoman told Bloomberg News.
The retailer, which is the largest in the US by sales, joins several other major companies including Disney, Apple, IBM, and Warner Bros in pulling ads from the platform since Musk seemingly endorsed an antisemitic post.
But Joe Benarroch, X's head of business operations, said on CBS MoneyWatch that the company had stopped advertising on X in October, "so this is not a recent pausing."
In a statement to Business Insider, Walmart said: "We are not actively advertising on X. This is not about a specific change to our advertising policies. We've simply decreased spend over time to align with performance."
"These decisions are made in a dynamic market and could change in the future," it added.
In a dig at Walmart on Friday, Musk replied to a tweet about the news saying: "I prefer HEB."
I prefer HEB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2023
He had harsher words at the DealBook Summit this week, raging against big advertisers that have ditched his platform and warning that they could "kill" X.
X CEO Lina Yaccarino sent a memo around the company Thursday backing up Musk.
"Our principles do not have a price tag, nor will they be compromised — ever," she wrote. "No matter how hard they try, we will not be distracted by sideline critics who don't understand our mission."
Musk has since said the post was a "mistake" and "one of the most foolish things" he'd done on the platform. The controversy could cost the company up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of 2023, The New York Times reported.
The investor Ross Gerber has said that Musk's X comments have also damaged Tesla, saying he'd never seen a CEO do "so many detrimental things" to harm a brand.
"I've never had this with any company I've invested in in my entire life, where the CEO does so many detrimental things that destroy the brand, because bottom line that's what's happening. It's absolutely outrageous, his behaviors and the damage he's caused to the brand," he said.
