SpaceX has bought an advertising package on Twitter for its satellite internet service Starlink, said Elon Musk, who owns the rocket company and the social media platform that is seeing an exodus of advertisers.
"SpaceX Starlink bought a tiny – not large – ad package
to test effectiveness of Twitter advertising in Australia and Spain. Did same
for FB/Insta/Google," Musk tweeted on Monday.
Twitter, which generated more than 90 percent of its
second-quarter revenue from ad sales, has seen advertisers flee on fears that
Musk would change the company's content moderation rules.
Companies including General Motors, General Mills, Mondelez
International and Volkswagen AG paused advertising on the platform after Musk
acquired it last month.
"At the moment, most clients are suspending their activities
(on Twitter) because they're worried about extreme content and content
moderation on the site," S4 Capital's Martin Sorrell said.
The chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX had last week told
advertisers that he aimed to turn the social media platform to pursue truth and
put an end to fake accounts.
He also raised the possibility of Twitter going bankrupt
days after disclosing that the platform had seen a "massive" drop in
revenue and blamed activist groups pressuring advertisers.
A Platformer reporter said on Monday citing an inter social nal
email that Twitter has locked down its code base, freezing any production
changes to its systems until further notice.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares fell 4 percent after Musk said he
had "too much work" on his plate, with investors worrying he is too
preoccupied with the media platform when the world's most valuable automaker is
facing production hurdles and rising competition. © Reuters