Elon Musk attempts to win back advertisers by toning down his controversial comment.

• At the Cannes Lions festival on Wednesday, Elon Musk clarified that his "go f--- yourself" remark to advertisers was intended as a general statement on free speech, rather than a targeted comment to the advertising industry.
• "Musk stated that it wasn't about advertisers as a group, but rather it was regarding freedom of speech."
• In response to controversial comments made by its billionaire owner, some of the world's largest advertisers, including Apple, IBM, Disney, and Sony, stopped advertising on X last year.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk attempted to retract his criticism of advertisers leaving his X social media platform.

During the Cannes Lions advertising festival in Cannes, France, Musk was questioned by WPP CEO Mark Read about his statement to advertisers who threatened to withdraw ads from the platform last year, saying "go f--- yourself."

Musk clarified that his statement was a general statement about free speech, not a specific comment on the advertising industry.

"Musk stated that it was not advertisers as a whole, but rather the importance of having a global free speech platform where people from a wider range of opinions can voice their views, with respect to freedom of speech."

"Musk stated that some advertisers were demanding censorship. He added, "Ultimately, if we have to choose between censorship and losing money, or censorship and money, or free speech and losing money, we will opt for the latter.""

He stated that he would stand for free speech instead of being silenced for financial gain, which he believed was the proper moral choice.

Earlier this week, Musk flew to Cannes to reassure advertising groups and global brands about the future of X.

Linda Yaccarino, X's CEO and former chairman of global advertising and partnerships for NBC Universal, joined him.

Free speech platform

In the past year, several major advertisers, including Apple, IBM, Disney, and Sony, withdrew their advertising from X due to Musk's controversial remarks and the placement of their ads alongside harmful content.

In November, Musk journeyed to Israel to confer with local authorities following allegations by civil rights associations that he had intensified anti-Jewish animosity through X.

At the 2023 DealBook Summit in New York, the tech billionaire stated that advertisers threatening to stop advertising on his platform should cease their spending.

"In the November interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, he stated, "Advertising is not an option. If someone attempts to blackmail me with advertising or money, they can go f--- themselves.""

Musk on Wednesday backpedalled on his attacks against advertisers.

""Advertisers have the right to appear next to content that aligns with their brands, but it's not acceptable to demand that there be no content they disagree with on the platforms," he stated."

To be a global public square, X must be a free speech platform, but it's important to note that this does not mean people can say anything they want; it's free speech within the confines of the law.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.