A year has passed since Elon Musk assumed leadership at what is now known as “X,” formerly Twitter. With ambitious plans for a free speech platform turned super app, Musk’s tenure has been nothing short of eventful.
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Since Musk’s takeover, X has faced its share of challenges. Third-party data from Apptopia suggests a significant drop in app downloads, with a nearly 30% decrease reported between July and September 2023, as detailed by Insider.
Twitter reported having 237.8 million monetizable daily active users by the end of the second quarter in 2022. Elon Musk posted in November 2022 that this figure had reached an all-time high of to 259.4 million. However, by September, X reported a lower count, with 245 million daily active users.
Musk bought the social network for $44 billion and later posted that the company neared bankruptcy after the purchase. By March 2023, Musk reportedly informed employees that he valued the company at just $20 billion.
Despite the fluctuations, Musk remains optimistic. In the last three months, he posted that the platform was “growing fast,” and noted that “user-seconds” had reached record numbers.
Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO, has said she anticipates that the company will turn a profit in the coming year. She noted that 90% of the top 100 advertisers from the previous year have returned, indicating continued support from key partners.
This one-year milestone came after a report from The Wall Street Journal that the banks that extended roughly $13 billion to Musk for the Twitter acquisition are now preparing to unload the debt. According to the publication’s sources, the banks expect to incur a 15% loss, equivalent to approximately $2 billion.
IT’S BEEN A YEAR SINCE TECH BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK TOOK THE REINS AT–WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS–X. WITH VISIONS OF A FREE-SPEECH PLATFORM TURNED SUPER-APP, THE TECH BILLIONAIRE HAS HAD AN EVENTFUL TENURE, TO SAY THE LEAST.
SO HOW HAS X PERFORMED IN THE PAST YEAR?
THIRD-PARTY DATA SUGGESTS THERE HAVE BEEN CHALLENGES: INSIDER REPORTED A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN APP DOWNLOADS–NEARLY 30%–BETWEEN JULY AND SEPTEMBER, ACCORDING TO APPTOPIA’S DATA.
WE KNOW THAT TWITTER REPORTED HAVING 237.8 MILLION MONETIZABLE DAILY ACTIVE USERS IN JUNE, 2022. ELON MUSK ANNOUNCED IN NOVEMBER THAT THIS NUMBER HAD HIT AN ALL-TIME HIGH, REACHING 259.4 MILLION. HOWEVER, THIS SEPTEMBER, X REPORTED A LOWER COUNT: 245 MILLION DAILY ACTIVE USERS.
MUSK BOUGHT THE SOCIAL NETWORK FOR $44 BILLION AND MONTHS LATER, TWEETED THAT THE COMPANY NEARED BANKRUPTCY AFTER THE PURCHASE. AS OF MARCH 2023, HE REPORTEDLY TOLD EMPLOYEES IT WAS WORTH JUST $20 BILLION.
MUSK REMAINS OPTIMISTIC. IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS, HE POSTED THAT THE APP IS “GROWING FAST” AND NOTED THAT “USER-SECONDS” HAD REACHED RECORD NUMBERS.
LINDA YACCARINO, X’S CEO ANTICIPATES THE COMPANY WILL TURN A PROFIT NEXT YEAR. SHE SAID 90% OF THE TOP 100 ADVERTISERS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR HAVE RETURNED.
THIS YEAR MILESTONE COMES AS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTS THAT THE BANKS WHICH LOANED MUSK ABOUT $13 BILLION DOLLARS TO PURCHASE TWITTER ARE PREPARING TO UNLOAD THE DEBT, EXPECTING TO TAKE A 15% HIT–THAT’S ROUGHLY $2 BILLION.
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