Elon Musk Says ‘Woke Mind Virus’ Making Netflix Unwatchable

Synopsis: In an attempt to interpret the loss of the OTT platform, the Tesla boss said that the "Woke mind virus" is making the OTT platform unwatchable. Musk made the statement while replying to a tweet by Slashdot. He tweeted, "The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable."

After sending shockwaves across the world with the announcement of interest in buying Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has now spoken up on subscription-based OTT (Over The Top) streaming platform, Netflix which has reported the loss of over 200K subscribers. The platform has recorded a deep loss of subscribers for the first time in 10 years.

In an attempt to interpret the loss of the OTT platform, the Tesla boss said that the “Woke mind virus” is making the OTT platform unwatchable. Musk made the statement while replying to a tweet by Slashdot. 

Shares of Netflix plunged, recording a fall of 25 percent on Tuesday after the company made the revelation in its earnings letter. According to the letter, the OTT platform generated a net income of $1.6 billion in the last quarter, which is significantly lesser than the same period in the last year which was $1.7 billion. It has said, “We’re not growing revenue as fast as we’d like.”

The statement further added, 

Covid-19 clouded the picture by significantly increasing our growth in 2020, leading us to believe that most of our slowing growth in 2021 was due to the Covid-19 pull forward. Now, we believe there are four main inter-related factors at work.

Reportedly, Netflix has stated the Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in quarter-over-quarter erosion, the reason being, the company’s suspension of its services in Russia. The OTT platform suspended its services for Russian users due to the ongoing invasion. The streaming platform has recorded over 221.6 million subscribers, which is still less than the final quarter of the last year.

Apart from this, the company has cited several factors as reasons behind the plunging subscriber count. It mentioned the first reason as delay in access to affordable broadband internet service and smart televisions, which are required for them to access the platform on television. It added that the delay is hampering its addressable market which is homes.

Further, the company asserted the sharing of the single subscription outside households among the issues. In the earning letter, Netflix has said that the platform has over 222 million households paying for the services they get from it. On the other hand, as per the company’s estimation over 100 million subscriptions are shared outside the household and the number includes 30 million from the UCAN region.

Reports also suggest that the company is mulling providing cheaper services to cover the loss. However, the cutting down of subscription costs will also have a repercussion that is the addition of ads along with the content on the platform.