Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino have devised a controversial strategy to attract advertisers: effectively telling them to either spend their advertising budgets on their platform or face legal action. This tactic reportedly originated with Verizon, which received a striking ultimatum from X: “Spend your ad dollars with us or we’ll see you in court.”

Since Musk’s takeover of the platform in October 2022, X has faced significant challenges in securing advertisers, many of whom have departed due to various concerns surrounding Musk’s management style.

Alarmingly, this intimidating pitch proved effective; Verizon, which hadn’t advertised on X since Musk’s arrival, agreed to invest $10 million in advertising this year. Verizon isn’t alone in facing this pressure; Ralph Lauren and at least five other companies have also received similar threats.

Reports indicate that these agreements come with both binding ad-spending commitments and nonbinding targets. These aggressive tactics pose serious concerns for marketers.

Musk’s considerable popularity, amplified by his 221 million followers and his connections in Washington, makes these strong-arm approaches particularly intimidating. Despite any fallout he might have had with Trump, Musk retains substantial influence and access to key government officials.

In August 2024, X escalated its approach by suing the World Federation of Advertisers and several brands, accusing them of engaging in an illegal boycott. The company alleged that these organizations conspired to withhold advertising, allegedly violating antitrust laws.

As part of this strategy, insider sources claim that X threatened to include Verizon in the lawsuit if it refused to allocate advertising dollars to the platform, a tactic reportedly used against several other companies as well.