The Elon Musk-Don Lemon war continued today, as both sides tweaked each other’s tail over their aborted programming deal.
Lemon had the first at-bat, sending out a dig on X.
“Every time @elonmusk tweets, a subscriber gets his wings. Tune in Monday.” Lemon will continue on the X platform, even though his remuneration will come from clicks and sponsorships rather than a salary and perks.
“That was followed by a Musk retort: “Don “Veruca Salt” and a lemon image.”
The “Veruca Salt” insult likens Lemon to the Willy Wonka character of the same name, an over-indulged and manipulative young girl who shows no gratitude.
That slap stems from earlier reports indicating Lemon had a lengthy wish list while negotiating for his one-and-done show on the X platform. They allegedly included a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary, an equity stake in the multibillion-dollar company, and the right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content.
Jay Sures, vice chairman at UTA, told the New York Post: “This is absolute, complete utter nonsense without an iota of truth to it.”