Tesla has removed the Disney+ app from many of its car as Elon Musk continues to feud with Disney CEO Bob Iger. This comes after Disney removed advertising from X (formerly Twitter) following a study from Media Matters for America showed that its advertising was being placed next to antisemitic tweets/posts. This led to Elon Musk telling Bob Iger to ‘go f- yourself.’ Now, Musk apparently is upping the anti even more.
Over the weekend, multiple Tesla owners reported that the Disney+ app had disappeared from their Teslas. One Mom posted the following:
So Disney+ has now been removed from Tesla vehicles. I’m assuming this is in retaliation to Disney pulling advertising from X (which they have every right to do). So now I, as a mom, get to deal with telling my toddlers we can’t watch Disney+ while in our Tesla and deal with their upset feelings because 2 grown men can’t have a civil discussion and move on. This has WAY more of an affect on Tesla owners than it does Disney. Disney is freakin loaded and they’re definitely not reliant on their app being in every Tesla vehicle. Plus I’m sure Bon Iger isn’t up in the night crying about this. This comes off like a temper tantrum. And I feel like Tesla owners are now caught in the crossfire of something that is absolutely not their fault.
***I think Bob shouldn’t have ever pulled advertising. That was silly. But this is also way out of line and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
So Disney+ has now been removed from Tesla vehicles. I’m assuming this is in retaliation to Disney pulling advertising from X (which they have every right to do).
— The Tesla Hoe (@TheTeslaHoe) December 18, 2023
So now I, as a mom, get to deal with telling my toddlers we can’t watch Disney+ while in our Tesla and deal with… pic.twitter.com/YYuDLQDtIc
The news was confirmed by other Tesla owners as well, while others reported that the app still was found in their automobiles. One person reported that one car still had the Disney+ app and the other didn’t.
I can confirm that Disney+ has been removed from my Tesla Model S.
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) December 18, 2023
Strangely, our Hardware 3 Model S on the same firmware still has it. pic.twitter.com/pEZvLU5jLN
Disney isn’t the only company that removed its advertising. Multiple companies did the same in November after the report by Media Matters for America. Other companies like Apple and Sony also removed their advertising. However, Musk seems to be focusing on Disney more than the other companies. When he told Bob Iger to ‘go f- yourself,’ he continued saying, “Hey, Bob, if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise.”
Disney apparently was told last week that the app would be removed from Tesla vehicles before this was done. While Tesla did not give a specific reason for the app’s removal, the message sent by the Musk’s company was “read between the lines.” The Disney+ app was initially added to Tesla vehicles’ “Theater mode” in 2021. Other apps that were also added included Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. It doesn’t appear that any of the other apps were removed.
What do you think of Tesla removing the Disney+ app from its vehicles? Does it matter? Will it impact one or both companies? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
