Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has made a remarkable comeback, with its valuation soaring to $44 billion. This impressive rebound comes after the turbulence that followed Musk’s takeover of the company in 2022. The latest valuation of X was revealed in a report by the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.
In a recent secondary deal, investors valued X at $44 billion, marking a significant increase from previous estimates. The deal involved investors exchanging existing stakes in the platform. Additionally, X is reportedly planning to raise fresh capital in a primary round, aiming to secure around $2 billion. This capital will be used to pay off over $1 billion in junior debt leftover from Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022.
The $44 billion valuation of X represents a major turnaround for the company. Just last year, Fidelity Investments valued X at less than $10 billion. Interestingly, Fidelity was among the investors in X’s recent funding round, along with Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, 8VC, and Goanna Capital.
Elon Musk’s aggressive cost-cutting measures faced criticism following his takeover of Twitter. Many believed that Musk’s drastic cuts would lead to the demise of the platform. However, Twitter managed to survive and thrive under Musk’s leadership. In 2024, X reported an EBITDA of approximately $1.25 billion and annual revenue of $2.7 billion, surpassing expectations set by investors.
X’s valuation is further bolstered by its stake in Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, which is behind the development of Grok, a large language model. Additionally, X Money, a payment service backed by Visa, is set to be launched later this year, expanding the company’s revenue streams.
Overall, X’s resurgence and impressive valuation reflect the successful turnaround orchestrated by Elon Musk. The company’s strategic investments in AI and new payment services are poised to drive further growth and innovation in the future.