Chapter 168

Musk's Paul Pelosi conspiracy tweet damages advertiser confidence in Twitter, prompting a crisis trip to New York where reassurance meetings fail to stem an exodus of major brands. Between advertising negotiations, Musk attends Heidi Klum's Halloween party and witnesses SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch while maintaining strong ties with the Pentagon.

On October 30, Musk tweets a conspiracy theory linking Paul Pelosi's hammer attack to an alleged male prostitute encounter, sparking concern from Yoel Roth and his husband. The tweet is quickly deleted and Musk apologizes privately, but the damage is substantial—Musk recognizes it conflicts with his promise to advertisers that Twitter won't become a "free-for-all hellscape." Advertising comprises 90 percent of Twitter's revenue and is already declining due to recession; Musk's misstep accelerates the decline sharply. He flies to New York that night with his son X and mother Maye, using them as emotional support during Monday's tense meetings with the ad sales team and advertising agencies. Musk speaks in a monotone, attempting to explain Twitter's appeal while acknowledging his own tendency to tweet "stupid" things with cold indifference rather than contrition. His comment "I am who I am" does not reassure listeners. Advertisers visibly disengage; many fold their arms or exit Zoom calls. By month's end, advertising revenue plummets 80 percent, and major executives including Leslie Berland, Jean-Philippe Maheu, and Sarah Personette quit or are fired. Musk tweets that activist groups are responsible for the collapse and are "trying to destroy free speech in America." On Halloween, Musk attends Heidi Klum's party in a devil's champion costume and subsequently changes his Twitter profile picture to the same image, viewing it as fitting his current situation. The next morning he watches the Falcon Heavy launch with Maye and X before flying to Washington for a U.S. Space Command ceremony, where General Mark Milley praises his role in advancing civil-military cooperation in space.