AceShowbiz - Elon Musk says Apple has "mostly stopped advertising on Twitter." The Tesla billionaire, 51, also asked on the platform, "Do they hate free speech in America?" after a string of big-name bands pulled out of their partnerships with the company after he acquired it for $44 billion.

According to non-profit watchdog Media Matters, 50 of Twitter's top 100 advertisers, which have spent around $2 billion since the start of 2020, have halted advertising on the site in recent weeks, including Chevrolet, Ford, Jeep, Kraft, Coca Cola, Chanel, CNN, Heineken and Kellogg's. It comes amid worries over Elon's plans to give users increased "free speech," which has seen ex-U.S. president [c=Donald Trump's banned account restored.

In the first full week under Elon's ownership of Twitter, the Center for Countering Digital Hate claimed the use of racist, homophobic, transphobic and anti-Semitic slurs soared after he took over on October 27. There is also controversy after Elon fired around 50 per cent of Twitter's 7,500-strong workforce after he bought up the firm in October.

And he has sparked concern by warning remaining workers they must be willing to work "long hours at high intensity." A spokesperson for Kellogg's said earlier this month it was halting its ads as it wanted to "monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend."