automakers are boycotting Elon Musk and Tesla is paying the price
Automakers are boycotting Twitter after Elon Musk took over the platform. It’s not just about advertising, it’s about wanting to avoid the grid.
The takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk has dramatically changed the management of the social network. But after this transaction, several Tesla competitors boycotted the platform altogether.
As soon as the acquisition became official, brands quickly slowed or even stopped advertising on Twitter. This was the case with General Motors, which withdrew its entire investment the next day.
Stellantis had done the same, reasoning that the group was waiting to understand the state of the platform at this start of the Musk era. Other companies outside the automotive world, such as United Airlines or the CBS chain, have also announced that they will stop advertising and communicating on Twitter accordingly.
But there is a real boycott in the USA on the side of the producers. Audi USA hasn’t tweeted since October 28th, Chevrolet hasn’t tweeted since October 27th, and Cadillac hasn’t tweeted since October 18th.
These brands have not left the platform where they answer their customers’ questions. Moreover, some of them are violent and condemn the politicization of these decisions vocism Builders who oppose the mask.
Some colleagues of Elon Musk also left the platform. This is the work of General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe. They haven’t tweeted since being taken over by the billionaire. Meanwhile, Henrik Fisker immediately announced his departure from Instagram.
Jaguar Land Rover, in turn, announced a massive layoff … Fired by Musk! The auto group will indeed be choosing among victims of Twitter politics to bolster its lines.
Negative effects on Twitter…
However, don’t believe that this Twitter boycott is purely out of frustration with Musk. The billionaire’s control of Twitter is causing problems even for a platform that last week seemed on the verge of collapse.
Musk actually launched a campaign to pay the subscription fee to own the famous Blue Check. This was the mark of certified accounts in the past and is now the mark of premium members of the network. The desire to make Twitter profitable has also prompted Elon Musk to lay off a large number of employees.
This led to the departure of hundreds of others, leaving the company with over 80% of its workforce. Of course, results in the smooth operation of the platform, which suffers from slowdowns and other problems with external modules, such as double authentication.
Musk hastily rehired several engineers to fix the technical problems. Day-to-day management that reflects a serious lack of long-term vision and has detrimental effects on Twitter.
Worse, the effects are disastrous for Tesla, which has been suffering since the spring of the Twitter takeover. In October 2021, the value of the brand reached 1 trillion dollars. At that time, the price of a share was 400 dollars.
… also at Tesla!
In April, the value of one Tesla share was still $380. But as soon as Twitter’s proposed takeover was announced, Tesla shares fell to $224 in less than two months. In particular, due to the fact that Musk sold 4 billion shares of Tesla to finance his takeover of Twitter.
It backfired when the businessman finally announced that he would not buy the platform. Tesla shares crossed $300 several times between August and September. But after the acquisition, it was a hellish descent for the brand.
Today, Tesla shares are trading at $182, after hitting $166 a week ago, when Twitter was at its worst. If necessary, it is a sign that the destinies of the two brands are linked. Tesla’s total value is also suffering as it now stands at $573 billion.
There’s nothing to worry about, of course, but there’s also nothing to doubt Musk’s ability to raise Tesla’s value over the long term. And wonder again about the assumptions he makes through communication. We recall that the stock exchange commission stung him in 2018 for announcing the withdrawal of Tesla from the stock exchange on social networks.
That management appears to be back on the agenda for Musk, who has made Twitter his communications space. Given the 300% growth the company experienced from March 2020 to October 2021, Tesla’s decline in value could raise questions about Musk’s side projects.
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