Elon Musk, Bill Ackman spar over soda: ‘When was the last time you saw an obese person in bikini in CocaCola ad?’

After Bill Ackman, the CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, criticised processed food and soda companies as being the “tobacco companies of the modern era”, Tesla CEO Elon Musk jumped in to say that these firms aren't hiding fact that sugar and other processed food is addictive.

Ackman had shared that in a first of its kind, a 16-year-old is suing 11 major food companies for engineering ultra processed foods that are addictive and have caused him chronic illness.

Sharing the news about this lawsuit, the Pershing Square CEO had said, “I have always been surprised this kind of litigation didn’t happen sooner. The processed food and soda companies are the tobacco companies of the modern era.”

Musk, who said he was unclear about the meaning of ‘processed’ used in the litigation, said, “I don’t know about this. What does “processed” mean? Sugar is obviously addictive, but that fact is hardly top secret.”

To help the Tesla CEO get a better perspective about the processed food and soda companies, Ackman highlighted that the advertisements of these firms are misleading and has no information about its effects on health.

“The soda companies promote their products to children using misleading advertising and with no information about deleterious health effects,” he said.

“When was the last time you saw an obese person in a bikini in a @CocaCola ad?” Ackman asked Musk.

Which all companies have been sued?

The lawsuit has been filed by a Pennsylvania teenager, suing 11 major food companies for engineering ultra processed foods that are addictive. The teenager said the addictive nature of these ultra processed foods have caused him chronic illness in the form of Type 2 diabetes and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by age 16.

The 11 defendants listed in the lawsuit are: Coca-Cola, Conagra Brands, General Mills, Kellanova, Kraft Heinz, Mars Inc., Mondelēz International, Nestlé USA, Post Holdings and WK Kellogg Co.