Elon Musk Deletes Tesla and SpaceX Facebook Pages Amid Data Scandal
Elon Musk deletes the official Facebook pages for Tesla and SpaceX after learning of their existence during the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Elon Musk joins the growing 'Delete Facebook' movement by completely removing the official Facebook pages for both Tesla and SpaceX. This sudden action comes as a direct response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which exposes the personal data of approximately 50 million Facebook users. Interestingly, Musk admits that he does not even know these pages exist until users prompt him about them on Twitter.
The deletion of these pages is a notable move because Tesla relies heavily on social media instead of traditional advertising. The deleted Tesla page boasts millions of followers and regularly shares positive articles and reviews about the company's vehicles. However, Musk and his companies clearly prefer Twitter as their primary social network, making the departure from Facebook much less disruptive to their overall marketing strategy.
Facebook faces intense scrutiny over its data collection practices and its role in spreading fake news during recent political campaigns. While some brands only temporarily pause their Facebook advertising in protest, Musk takes a more permanent and drastic approach. He deletes the pages for both of his major companies almost immediately after discovering they are still active on the platform.