Some times the irony is just too much.
General Motors announced they have suspended advertising on Twitter after Elon Musk (and his sink) took over Twitter. This is rather interesting consider the latter is a major competitor of the former in the automotive industry.
Here is what came out of the company:
“We are engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership. As is normal course of business with a significant change in a media platform, we have temporarily paused our paid advertising. Our customer care interactions on Twitter will continue,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Perhaps this could be something that is signficant. Honestly, without knowing what GM's policies are regarding social media and changes, it is hard to know if they are in congruence. Nevertheless, it isn't as if Home Depot made this decision.
Will other automobile manufacturers follow suit?
Jeff Kowalsky | AFP | Getty Images
Giving Musk Money
Some might be tempted to think that these companies simply do not want to give Musk money. After all, why enrich the competition.
Of course, if we take a step back, that is what the legacy automakers were doing for years. The tax credits that allowed Tesla to rake in billions from these companies helped to fund the new factories. Effectively, legacy auto was financing their own demise.
Certainly, a case could be made that enough is enough. Do they really need to advertise on Twitter? I have no idea of the effectiveness of the platform in terms of ad dollars. It could be a powerful platform to promote products on. Then again, it might be a way companies toss money around to try to create some awareness without much bang.
In fact, some assert that the more EV advertising legacy does, the more it helps Tesla. Since there is a constrain on the numbers of EVs available, people appear to have gravited towards Tesla. That is the line of thinking according to some.
Another Platform To Incorporate
The acquisition of Twitter did not appear to make much sense on the surface. However, since Musk revealed the "Everything App", it does become a bit clearer.
To start, it is likely that he can quickly change the profit equation through layoffs. It is becoming clear that there was a lot of waste at Twitter with the payroll. Simply put, they were not filled with workers. The culture was one of a summer camp and not a business. It is evident why they did not make money.
Musk will clean up the culture within a month or two. He is not one who tolerates letharic activity or attitudes. Everyone can be he will be there for more than 100 hours per week to start.
There is also the cross pollination that we are already seeing. We can bet that Twitter will suddenly have access to some of the brightest developers in the world. Both SpaceX and Tesla are known for their engineering abilities. In fact, Tesla navigated a large part of the chip shortage by rewritting the code for their cars.
It is safe to say that Twitter is now able to tap into a much deeper talent pool.
What this is doing is expanding the influence of Musk. Also, if profitable, it will also start to drive even more money his way. He already proved he is not about to spend it on Yachts and mansions. Whatever he gets will be used to leverage positions for something greater.
He could end up feeding money back into his existing operations.
Tesla is a car company. Twitter is a microblogging platform. SpaceX is a rocket company.
Repeatedly we see people trying to categorize Musk and what he is doing. While there is a degree of truth to the assessment, it tends to not pick up the entire picture.
It will be interesting to see how things unfold with Twitter. However, the time to doubt Musk is over. He has repeatedly proven that he has a way of getting things done. Sure, it is not on the time scale he states. That said, he eventually does get there.
Mary Barra over at General Motors as acting like she has some power. The reality is she is on a sinking ship.
Musk is outpacing near everyone.
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