It has only been a week since Elon Musk took over Twitter and removed top executives in the process. Musk acquired the social media platform this year and naturally, automotive companies that are also on Twitter have already reacted to the said move.
The Volkswagen Group is the latest auto company that makes a move after the Tesla CEO's takeover of Twitter, telling its brands to pause advertising on the platform, according to Reuters.
"We are closely monitoring the situation and will decide about next steps depending on its evolvement," Volkswagen said in a statement, per Reuters.
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Audi of America, unit of Audi, a VW Group brand, said that it has paused its paid advertising on Twitter a day ahead of VW Group's statement. Reuters reported that Audi of America will "continue to evaluate the situation."
As of date, the brands under the Volkswagen Group are Volkswagen (passenger cars), Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Škoda, SEAT, Cupra, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche, and Ducati. The VW Group also has several subsidiaries, such as the Bugatti-Rimac, but we doubt the automaker will impose the said temporary halt on Twitter advertising on those companies.
Days after Musk became the "Chief Twit," General Motors also announced that it's pausing its paid Twitter advertisements while it evaluates the platform's direction under the new management. The company's interaction with its customers on Twitter will continue, though.
Ford, on the other hand, confirmed that it has stopped advertising on Twitter even before Musk's takeover. Fisker, on the other hand, made a harsher move, with the owner and CEO deleting his Twitter account as soon as the news about Musk and Twitter first broke in April of this year. Citroën aired its reaction to the Musk-Twitter fiasco through a one-liner tweet.