X (Twitter) Loses 75% of Value Since Musk Bought It

The value of the social network X has fallen by more than 75% since its billionaire owner Elon Musk bought it two years ago.

This is reported by Euronews.

This information is contained in the disclosure report for Fidelity's Blue Chip Growth Fund.

As of July, the fund owned shares in Company X worth $5.5 million. When Musk acquired the social network, Fidelity invested $19.66 million in it. Currently, Fidelity's report puts X's total valuation at $9.4 billion, less than a quarter of the $44 billion Musk paid for the social network in October 2022.

As X's financial condition continues to deteriorate, the company is taking cost-saving measures, such as moving its headquarters from San Francisco, California, to Bastrop, Texas.

The value of X shares actually rose by about 22% immediately after Musk announced the acquisition of the company, then known as Twitter. However, share prices began to fall again after several controversial decisions by Musk: the main one was the decision to rebrand Twitter as X, i.e. to change the company's name and logo.

Some experts expressed concern at the time, arguing that the Twitter brand was too recognisable to change.

Musk also completely revamped the platform's verification system. On Twitter, certain active users could be verified by a blue tick next to their names. After acquiring the company, Elon Musk changed the verification system, replacing it with a subscription. Instead of issuing blue ticks to verified users, they can be obtained by signing up for X Premium and paying a monthly subscription fee.

Another factor that has directly affected the value of X is the outflow of advertisers who have left the platform due to concerns about content. In 2023, Apple, Coca-Cola, and Disney removed paid advertising from X after Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic post. Other companies have pulled ads over concerns about hate speech and Nazi content on X, including the European Commission, Comcast, IBM, and the World Bank.