Netflix faced another round of selling pressure in Wednesday’s trading session, with the stock falling for the third day, sliding 3% to hit a 2-week low of $1,163.21, after billionaire Elon Musk echoed calls for a boycott of the streaming service.
An old post by Hamish Steele, the creator of the animated series Dead End: Paranormal Park, criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for condemning the assassination of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.
Mint was unable to verify the screenshots because Steele’s X account is private. “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids,” Musk said in a follow-up post that criticized the pro-transgender message of Dead End: Paranormal Park.
A general negative sentiment among market participants, as the U.S. entered a government shutdown, is also likely contributing to the stock move.
The United States has entered its first government shutdown in seven years and the third under President Donald Trump, after the Senate rejected the House’s funding bill.
Stock remains under pressure
The stock has been under pressure recently after Donald Trump imposed 100% tariffs on non-U.S. films, raising concerns that it would lead to a jump in making costs for content producers.
However, it was not immediately clear what legal authority Trump would use to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made films. The president had first floated the idea of a movie tariff in May but offered few details, leaving entertainment executives unsure whether it would apply to specific countries or all imports.
The U.S. film industry recorded a $15.3 billion trade surplus in 2023, backed by $22.6 billion in exports to international markets, reported Reuters, citing the Motion Picture Association.
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