Elon Musk Rips Into YouTube for ‘Nonstop Scam Ads’

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, Calif. on June 13, 2019. Mike Blake/Reuters

Elon Musk took aim at YouTube against its “scam ads” on June 7, setting off speculation about another potential acquisition following his attempt on Twitter.

The billionaire turned his fire on the Google company in recent Twitter posts on Tuesday, which included a meme mocking what he saw as a double standard in the video site’s practices: turning a blind eye to scam advertisements, while taking a hard line on swearing on the platform.

It followed another post that read “YouTube seems to be nonstop scam ads.”

A spokesperson of YouTube’s parent company Google did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

“YouTube doesn’t allow spam, scams, or other deceptive practices that take advantage of the YouTube community,” the company states in its policies. “We also don’t allow content where the main purpose is to trick others into leaving YouTube for another site.”

YouTube scammers have targeted Musk’s followers. According to cybersecurity firm Tenable, a series of cryptocurrency scams had run on the platform in May 2021 ahead of the Tesla and SpaceX founder’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” leading to a theft of over $9 million. The scammers promoted a fake SpaceX digital coin claiming to be created by Musk.

Musk’s recent two posts have sparked discussion on Twitter as users, including conservative comedian Steven Crowder, suggested a possible takeover of YouTube—referencing his initial attacks on Twitter before making an offer of acquisition.

“Please buy YouTube and restore it to its former 2016 glory,” political commentator Lauren Chen wrote in response.

Musk, meanwhile, has blamed Twitter for “resisting and thwarting” his ability to obtain information about bot accounts on the social media website, calling it a “breach” of the terms of their previous deal.

It was when Twitter accepted Musk’s $44 billion offer in April to acquire and take it private at $54.20 per share. The billionaire later said the deal is “temporarily on hold” pending complete information about spam and fake accounts, but that he was “still committed to acquisition.”

“My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate,” Musk wrote on Twitter on May 17. “Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does.”