Netflix’s market value has dropped by nearly $25 billion following calls from billionaire Elon Musk urging users to cancel their subscriptions over what he described as the streamer’s promotion of “transgender messaging” in children’s content.
According to Yahoo Finance, Netflix’s value slipped from about $514 billion on September 27 to $489 billion by October 3, marking its sharpest weekly decline since April.
The downturn reportedly began after Musk, who has 227 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), posted on October 1 encouraging users to “Cancel Netflix.” Nearly $7 billion was wiped from the company’s value shortly after his post.
Musk accused the streaming platform of promoting “LGBT propaganda” and urged parents to cancel subscriptions “for the health of your kids.”
While the broader stock market saw gains — with the Nasdaq and other major tech stocks like Amazon and Meta climbing by about 2% — Netflix’s stock tumbled by nearly 5% over five trading days.
Analysts say that although market factors may have also played a role, the timing between Musk’s boycott campaign and Netflix’s stock slide “is hard to ignore.”
The controversy stems partly from backlash over Netflix’s now-cancelled animated series “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” which featured LGBTQ+ themes. Conservative commentators accused the company of promoting a “woke agenda.”
Despite the criticism, Netflix has not issued any official response to Musk’s remarks or the reported loss.
