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Elon Musk Takes Shot at Netflix After It Suffers Rare Drop in Subscribers

In a tweet, the billionaire offers an opinion on the streaming service but doesn't provide specifics.

Meara Isenberg Writer
Meara covers streaming service news for CNET. She recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where she wrote for her college newspaper, The Daily Texan, as well as for state and local magazines. When she's not writing, she likes to dote over her cat, sip black coffee and try out new horror movies.
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Meara Isenberg
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Elon Musk has stirred conversation lately for offering to buy social media platform Twitter.

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Elon Musk bashed Netflix on Tuesday evening following news that the streaming service lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. 

"The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable," the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla tweeted. 

Musk didn't specify which Netflix films or TV shows sparked this opinion. The term "woke" is often used as a pejorative by conservative and far-right commentators engaging in culture wars over the values depicted in modern entertainment. 

Netflix announced a drop in subscribers earlier on Tuesday. The streaming service said it expects to shed 2 million more paying customers during the three-month span from April to June. Netflix's stock dropped 35% on Wednesday following the news.

In a letter to shareholders, Netflix listed inter-related factors it believes are slowing growth. These included the streaming sector's dependency on the adoption of broadband; password sharing among subscribers; and the arrival of new streaming services in recent years (such as Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and HBO Max). Netflix also blamed "macro factors" including rising inflation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Netflix suspended its services in Russia in early March.)

Netflix didn't respond to a request for comment.

With more than 82 million followers, Musk is one of the most followed people on Twitter, which he recently offered to buy. He's extremely vocal on the platform, and has made provocative statements in the past.