Multiple GM Accounts Have Gone Silent on Twitter in Wake of Musk Ownership

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It has now been over a month since Tesla CEO Elon Musk officially took ownership of Twitter. The move caused a number of automakers to pause advertising on the social media platform, but one has taken it a step further. General Motors brands and its CEO seem to have stopped tweeting altogether.

USA Today reports the automaker has been pretty much radio silent on Twitter since October 27th. Coincidentally, that’s the day Musk bought the platform for $44 billion. In November, GM said it was going to suspend paid advertising on the website while it figures out the best path forward now that a competitor — and a fairly unpredictable one at that — owns the site.

“With a competitor owning the platform, it’s important for us to ensure our advertising strategies and data can be safely managed,” David Barnas, a spokesperson for GM, told the outlet.

Stellantis and Ford have also stopped advertising on Twitter as they evaluate the shape of the Twitter landscape the same way GM is. That being said, Stellantis North America and its various brands have continued to tweet, according to USA Today. Ford and its CEO Jim Farley also appear to still be tweeting on the post-Musk takeover Twitter.

There’s a lot of money hanging in the balance here for Twitter. The outlet reports that GM was spending $1.7 million per month on Twitter ads, which is reportedly typical for an automotive advertising buy.

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All that being said, General Motors has not gone completely dark on Twitter. Barnes told the outlet that some executives and brands are “still engaging on Twitter as appropriate.” Apparently, GM’s president, Mark Reuss, has regularly retweeted tweets and wrote about Cadillac racing.

Twitter has reportedly lost advertising from half of its top 100 advertisers since Musk purchased the site. Since 2020, these brands have supposedly accounted for nearly $2 billion in spending on the platform and $750 million this year, alone.

GM hasn’t announced any sort of plan to resume tweeting or advertising on the site. One thing is likely though, the announcement probably will not be coming on Twitter.