After a turbulent week on Wall Street, Netflix shares tumbled as Elon Musk’s boycott calls, gained momentum online. Markets closed flat, but Netflix lagged behind peers…
Netflix stocks ended the week sharply lower, recording their steepest decline since April, after Elon Musk triggered a wave of debate in a high-profile social media campaign, across his platform X.com. The streaming company’s shares fell nearly by five per cent across the week, heavily influenced public sentiment across social media. By Friday 3rd October 2025, Netflix had experienced a serious price drop compared to recent performance.
Musk’s “Cancel Netflix” Campaign
Controversy began when Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, urged his followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) to cancel their Netflix subscriptions. He among many other X users, accused Netflix of promoting “woke” themes in children’s content, referencing Dead End: Paranormal Park, a show featuring a transgender lead character that was cancelled in 2023. Similar claims were also made by users interracting with Elon’s posts, suggesting that the new children’s series Transformers had transgender references.
Elon’s posts quickly gained traction and his hashtag #CancelNetflix trended throughout the week. Netflix supporters vocalised that that Netflix represents diversity and inclusion, whilst others wholeheartedly supported Musk’s comments, beginning a wave of thousands of users sharing screenshots of subscription cancellations.
The Impact
The real impact of Elon’s campaign is expected to become clear when Netflix reports its third-quarter earnings later this month – results will reveal whether online backlash has had a negative effect on subscriber numbers or revenue. Until now, Netflix remains profitable with a large international footprint but time will tell how this entire saga will play out.
The Power of Social Media Narratives
This episode illistrates just how quickly social media narratives can influence financial markets. Powerful figures such as Elon Musk, have enormous reach online and a few viral posts can easily create short-term market ripples. Disney faced similar criticism in the past but share price recovered as earnings improved and subscribers stabilised. Many analysts expect Netflix to experience a similar rebound, as long as the story does not escalate further.
What Will Happen to Netflix Shares this Week?
Markets are set to reopen on Monday and many traders expect a quiet start for Netflix shares. Unless new developments appear, share price is not likely to recover until the company’s earnings update later this month. If Netflix manages to keep subscriber levels and revenue figures intact, the past week’s decline could even represent a buying opportunity.
News written and published by FX Trust Score.
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