On May 16, 2023, a claim was shared on Twitter that the social media platform had become profitable after Tesla committed to spending $10 billion on ads. The claim was posted the same day as Tesla's annual shareholders meeting.
"Twitter is now profitable after Tesla tonight committed to spending $10 billion on Twitter ads in the next week," a Twitter user posted on May 16, 2023.
Twitter is now profitable after Tesla tonight committed to spending $10 billion on Twitter ads in the next week.
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) May 17, 2023
Tesla did not commit to spending $10 billion in ads on Twitter. The account later said that the post was false. When another Twitter user asked if the post was true, the account replied, "No." The original post was apparently intended as a joke.
There was other evidence the claim wasn't true, as well. At the time of publication, billionaire Elon Musk was the CEO of both Tesla and Twitter. (On May 12, 2023, Musk announced NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino would become Twitter's new CEO.) If the company had announced it was spending such an amount on ads on the platform, especially with the connection both companies have to Musk, reputable news publications would have reported and analyzed the decision.
In March 2023, it was reported that Twitter revenue and adjusted earnings fell about 40% in December 2022, after advertisers left the platform following Elon Musk's acquisition of the company, according to the Wall Street Journal.
We've previously covered rumors related to Twitter and Musk, such as whether he had tweeted "RIP" (rest in peace) for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. We found that claim to be False as well.