David Zaslav and Elon Musk at the US Open. (Screen grab)
Early last month, Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav raised eyebrows when he was spotted sitting at the US Open with Elon Musk. Donning a white baseball cap, which he wore backwards, the goateed Zaslav sat in his luxury box shoulder-to-shoulder with the self-described "dark MAGA" billionaire.
It was an interesting sight, to say the least. And the images of the two together caused a bit of a stir inside WBD, particularly at CNN, which has been a frequent target of Musk's anti-media tirades. Musk has accused the news network of being "desperate for ratings," described it as "fringe," claimed it peddles "propaganda," and urged people to outright "ignore" the channel.
"As mind-blowingly tragic as this sounds, some poor suckers still believe CNN," Musk wrote on his X platform in March.
Which is all to say that it is not too hard to see why staffers at CNN and the broader WBD community would be vexed that their boss would choose to host Musk for a Sunday afternoon of tennis watching.
But what Zaslav's employees at CNN and WBD did not know when they saw the two socializing that early September day was that, behind the scenes…
The remainder of this article and newsletter is for paid subscribers only.
Don’t miss out! Become a member today.
A subscription gets you full access to our nightly newsletter, which includes:
✅ Essential reporting on and analysis of the Fourth Estate, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the Information Wars, and more.
✅ Hand-curated links to the most consequential stories moving the needle in the key corridors of the industry.
✅ Unlimited access to our online archive where you can read previous editions of the newsletter.
Get seen. Advertise with Status
Elevate your brand and expand its reach with Status, the reliable source for media pros. Reach top figures and decision makers across news, tech, politics, and entertainment. Advertise with Status and make an impact. Get in touch here.
