For Sale? Elon Musk Has the Ultimate Power Move To Get Even With Bob Iger

As the war against The Walt Disney Company rages on, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk could play a massive power move and worm his way into the House of Mouse.

Over the last few years, Disney has come under fire from outsiders, claiming the company to be heading in a dangerous direction when it comes to its content.

As the company strives to be as diverse and inclusive as possible, many fans of the once untouchable entertainment giant have declared this direction as a “woke agenda.”

From a same-sex kiss in Pixar’s Lightyear (2022) to the studio’s first-ever openly gay teen in Strange World (2022), the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2023) and rumored appointment of a person of color to play Hercules in the future, Disney’s efforts are loud and clear.

So loud that the phrase “go woke, go broke” has been circulating online for a while now.

And the box office failings and supposed lack of content direction have also caught the attention of numerous key players in the wider business world. There is Nelson Peltz, who is battling for a place on the Mouse House’s board after Disney’s multiyear stock low in 2023.

This is the second proxy battle against Disney; Peltz ended his first attempt following the company’s severe cost-cutting measures, led by Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, but reignited the attack late last year.

Trian Fund Management’s Peltz is also being supported by two former Disney executives, Ike Perlmutter and Jay Rasulo, in his bid for a seat on the board.

Disney and Elon Musk

But perhaps even noisier than Nelson Peltz is Tesla and X owner Elon Musk. Musk has been extremely vocal in his attacks on The Walt Disney Company.

Disney pulled advertisements from X (formerly Twitter) following Musk’s promotion of an anti-semitic conspiracy theory on the social platform, with Musk later telling Bob Iger to “go f*** himself” at the New York Times Dealbook Summit they both attended in late 2023.

Not long after his expletive-ridden tirade against the CEO, Musk continued his assault on X, writing, “He should be fired immediately.

Walt Disney is turning in his grave over what Bob has done to his company.” The businessman then pulled Disney+, the Mouse’s streaming service, from his Tesla vehicles.

In a fairly one-sided battle, one may assume that the feud between the two business giants will eventually die down, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk will now help fund a new fight against Disney–Gina Carano’s lawsuit. Once lined up to be part of the new wave of Star Wars, Gina Carano was fired from Lucasfilm in early 2021 following months of controversial social media posts and online interactions.

The hammer fell on her time as Cara Dune after the actress and former MMA star seemingly compared being a Republican to being Jewish in the Holocaust.

The incendiary comments that came amid the height of the pandemic also saw Carano’s talent agency, UTA, part ways with her.

Related: ‘Star Wars’ Fans Blindsided By Elon Musk’s Shocking Message About the Franchise

The lawsuit from Carano is based on wrongful termination and discrimination regarding her political views and is aimed at both Disney and its subsidiary, Lucasfilm, which creates Star Wars content.

In her suit, funded by Musk’s X, Carano seeks that Lucasfilm recast her in the sci-fi franchise.

“As a sign of X Corp’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination,” X’s Head of Business, Joe Benarroch, said in a statement, via The Hollywood Reporter.

So, with Musk banging at the door, could the entrepreneur, like others, actually make a bid to take on Disney in a more brutal fashion?

Well, part of one Disney theme park just went up for sale, and it could be Musk’s ticket into the Mickey Mouse palace.

According to the Financial Times, U.S. activist fund Elliott Management is calling on Japan’s largest property group, Mitsui Fudosan, to launch a 1 trillion yen (approx. $6.8 billion) share buyback.

“The report said Elliott also demanded the company sell down its $3.6 billion stake in Oriental Land, which runs Tokyo Disneyland, citing people familiar with the matter at both Elliott and Mitsui,” wrote CNBC.

The outlet also stated that shares in The Oriental Land Company fell by 2.2%, with Mitsui currently owning a 5.4% stake, making it Oriental Land’s second-largest stakeholder.

Tokyo Disney Resort is unusual in the way that Disney does not actually own the parks; Disney licenses The Oriental Land Company to operate the Disney parks in Tokyo.

But with this part of the empire going up for sale, could Musk make a bid for it? Nothing the businessman does seems to make sense, so while there is only a small chance he’d infiltrate Disney this way, there is still a possibility that he would do this to get even with Iger. And it would cost him a fraction of the cost of Twitter.

In fact, it was only earlier this week that some of Musk’s more ardent followers suggested he buy The Walt Disney Company. After posting Disney’s diversity and inclusion standards on X, with the caption, “An anonymous source just sent me this from Disney. It is mandatory, institutionalized racism and sexism!”

Musk responded to a comment asking him to buy Disney and “fix it” with the thinking face emoji. Musk’s reply got just under 1 million views.

This was just the latest chapter in the animosity the SpaceX co-founder holds for Disney. In December 2023, Musk tweeted that “Disney has a major content problem. Almost their entire upcoming slate is unwatchable. They are the world’s biggest example of go woke, go broke lol.”

Iger isn’t the only business owner to be in the sights of Musk. When Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg launched Threads as an offshoot of Instagram and a direct competitor to X, Musk challenged Zuckerberg to a cage match, which the latter accepted.

So far, this battle has yet to happen, but–as he said to his first wife, Justine, during their wedding dance–Musk is keen to be the “alpha” in all of his relationships.

The Nelson Peltz and Elon Musk sagas began not long after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wore down Disney with its political attacks against the company. It all started when Disney opposed the HB 1557 bill, which became colloquially named the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, in 2022.

What followed was a legal battle that dominated the political landscape of the Sunshine State and later that of the entire United States as Gov. DeSantis aimed to secure the Republican Party nomination for the 2024 Presidential Election.

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With The Walt Disney Company’s Q1 Earnings Call arriving later today, it will be interesting to see if Bob Iger addresses these noisy business developments.

The saga unfolding around Disney may read like a Shakespearean tragedy (or comedy, depending on how you look at it), but with a legacy at stake, will Disney find the power to fend off those knocking at the gate and reignite trust across its century-wide fanbase?

What do you think is next for Disney and Elon Musk? Let us know in the comments down below!

This post originally appeared on Inside the Magic.