Twitter CEO Elon Musk stated on Sunday that the last few months have been “extremely tough,” but that the social media business is “now trending to breakeven.”
Musk, who also serves as Tesla’s CEO, and SpaceX, stated in a tweet that he has had to “save Twitter from bankruptcy” while simultaneously carrying out his responsibilities at his other firms.
Elon Musk Fights To Save Twitter
It’s been a bumpy ride for “Mr. Right” since acquiring the company for $44 billion late last year. “Tweet,” a moniker Musk recently adopted.
According to the tech newsletter Platformer, Twitter’s daily revenue was down 40% year on year in January 2023, and hundreds of the company’s top advertisers have stopped or reduced spending. According to one estimate, Twitter’s ad revenue dropped by as much as 70% year on year in December.
Musk reversed the debt that comes with interest payments of about $1.5 billion per year to Twitter’s balance sheet, a company that was losing money before Musk bought it. The platform recorded a net loss of $221.4 million in 2021.
He initiated a severe cost-cutting campaign in early November, including the elimination of half of the workforce, or 3,750 workers, in one day. Musk had apparently advised the remaining employees to either work without clocking in or resign. Over a thousand more staff chose to depart. In total, the corporation has laid off 5,200 people.
The billionaire’s objective has also been complicated by self-inflicted wounds, such as reactivating nearly every suspended account for violating the platform’s measures against xenophobia, racism, anti-Semitism, and the spread of misinformation.
Advertisers fled due to the tech tycoon’s laissez-faire approach to content management. Musk revealed in early November that Twitter was losing $4 million each day.
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Tesla’s Terrible Journey In 2022
The takeover of Twitter, as well as Musk’s persistent attacks on Democrats, began to have an influence on Tesla, which was already suffering from the billionaire selling shares to fund the deal, as well as a particularly difficult economic environment for tech companies.
Tesla’s stock market meltdown last year (65% of the automaker’s stock price melted) unleashed a fresh front of attack against the billionaire. He faced harsh public criticism from notable shareholders like as Ross Gerber and Leo KoGuan, who blamed him for the collapse of more than $600 billion in market value.
These scathing attacks compelled him to leave as Twitter’s CEO. The automobile group’s stock market meltdown wiped out his net worth, which is linked to his interests in Tesla and SpaceX. He lost his title as the world’s richest man.
At the same time, it was his responsibility to bail out Twitter and reassure Tesla investors. The start of production of the highly anticipated Cybertruck will keep the automaker’s calendar very busy in the coming months. Tesla has no room for error, as this vehicle is expected to be the company’s cash cow for the next five years.
Musk’s Civil Trial
In addition to overseeing these businesses, Musk had to testify in two civil trials. Tesla investors accused him of fraud in one of the cases, citing tweets from 2018 in which he claimed to have secured financing to take Tesla private. In this instance, he was acquitted by a jury on February 3. The other claim is related to Tesla’s substantial compensation plan. The outcome of this case is currently pending.
Juggling between processes while carrying out all of its companies’ tasks at the same time would be practically difficult for most entrepreneurs, but not for Musk. The millionaire, on the other hand, has recently stated that the last few months have been nearly hell.
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