• Last week Thursday, Elon Musk’s drawn out acquisition of Twitter was completed, with a slew of changes already happening at the platform.
• Shortly after the deal closed, General Motors decided to temporarily pause paid advertising on Twitter.
• Musk is the CEO of Tesla Motors, a competitor to GM in the electric vehicles space.

It is only a few days into the Elon Musk-owned era of Twitter, but there have been several sweeping changes at the social media platform. Along with some high-profile firings at the company, Musk already has engineers working on new features, with reports suggesting a significant rise in the price of Twitter Blue too.

One of the more interesting developments since Musk took over is the temporary pausing of paid advertising on the platform by General Motors (GM). The decision, as CNBC originally reported, was taken the day after the deal closed.

The reason for the pause, is the uncertain nature of Twitter’s future given its new leadership.

“We are engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership,” GM told TechCrunch in an official statement emailed to the publication.

“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,” it added.

As the publication points out, it is unclear precisely how much of the GM advertising budget goes towards Twitter, but given that it has a presence on social media, as do all carmakers across the globe, being on Twitter is at the very least important in terms of brand awareness and engagement with customers.

There is also the consideration of what Musk’s involvement with Twitter means for the automotive industry at large, especially as he is the CEO of Tesla Motors, which is one of the largest EV manufacturers on the planet.

With most, if not all, carmakers announcing plans to electrify, including GM, having the CEO of a competitor presiding over the platform you spend money on could create some problems.

When he assumed the reins at Twitter, he made specific mention of the importance that advertisers represent for the future of the company, adding that the platform must be, “warm and welcoming to all.”

If that is indeed the case, it will be interesting to see what having a divisive figure like Musk at the head of the company will result in. As is whether other carmakers choose to join GM in pausing paid advertising, now that Elon Musk owns such a valuable platform.