SpaceX has purchased ad space on Twitter, according to internal Twitter records seen by CNBC. This happened as many top brands pulled their ads from the platform. The advertising packages that SpaceX buys typically cost more than $250,000 and allow the company to place its brand at the top of the Twitter timeline for an entire day.
According to the document, SpaceX will advertise its Starlink product first in Australia and then in Spain. Obviously, it’s not typical for SpaceX to buy ad space from Twitter, but given that they now share the same CEO, this type of thing might become more common. Presumably, Twitter users in the two target countries will be encouraged to subscribe to Starlink.
While CEO Elon Musk might prefer to get $250,000 in ad revenue from a company he doesn’t own, the move does two things for the company. First, SpaceX paying Twitter means that SpaceX is essentially getting free advertising because it doesn’t have to pay third-party companies. Second, Twitter could further showcase its rich and high-reach ad product, which could convince other brands to buy ad space on the platform again.
Brands that have pulled their ads from the platform since Elon Musk took ownership of Twitter include General Motors, Audi, Volkswagen, General Mills, Pfizer and United Airlines. An interesting observation is that GM, Audi, and Volkswagen are all direct competitors of Elon’s other company, Tesla. The latest move could be Elon Musk’s attempt to show brands that Twitter is a good enough platform for SpaceX to advertise on, so they should come back and advertise there too.
