Greetings, senior tech reporter Kylie Robison, here, and cheers to the new year! As you sketch out your 2024 resolutions, it’s important to remember that consistency is key. Take X (formerly Twitter), for instance, which has consistently seen its valuation fall and fall, reaching new lows just in time for the fresh start.
According to Axios, Fidelity, the mutual fund titan instrumental in Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of X, has marked down the value of its investment for the fourth time since October 2022. The firm’s current value for X is a staggering 71.5% below the acquisition price. Not entirely shocking, given that Musk bid adieu to 2023 with a bold message to the big brand advertisers boycotting his platform—“go f--k yourself”—along with a special nod to Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Adding to the drama, I managed to scoop details from an internal X meeting back in November where CEO Linda Yaccarino rallied the troops to seek alternative revenue sources as advertisers hit pause on X, triggered by a Media Matters report on anti-Semitic content. Oh, also, Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that month. It’s safe to say, the outlook for the platform continues to be quite bleak.
Elon Musk, who doubles as the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has expressed his desire to transform X into an “everything app” seamlessly integrating social media with payment and commerce functions. However, under Musk’s leadership, the company’s path has been tumultuous, characterized by notable technical hiccups, controversies surrounding content moderation, and alterations to features that have unsettled many longtime users. The platform has also doubled down on X Premium and even added a new tier that allows users access to Musk’s new AI chatbot, called Grok. While subscriber metrics are kept under extreme lock and key at X, whatever amount they are, it’s clear the company cannot be kept afloat by these subscribers alone.
Whether Musk can admit it or not, happy advertisers and power users have always been the lifeblood of this platform. As it stands, both are fleeing X, and there doesn’t seem to be a resolution in sight. The social media landscape has become increasingly more fragmented, as Meta’s Threads and the decentralized Bluesky encroach upon X’s user territory. Peering into 2024, I don’t foresee any rival outright devouring X’s lunch, but it’s evident that people are growing weary of the unpredictable billionaire’s theatrics. I suspect the platform will see diminishing use, and advertisers will find decreasing value in it, particularly if their ads continue to appear alongside objectionable content.
Even in the new year, some things really never change. As always, I’ll continue to keep you in the loop on all things X. Feel free to share any tips with me through Signal at 415-735-6829 or via email at kylie.robison@fortune.com.
Kylie Robison
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