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Elon Musk‘s social media platform X, formerly Twitter changes hands for the second time in three years as billionaire sells X to his startup xAI. The Tesla CEO bought his social media platform in October 2022 at $44 billion, gaining control of the world’s most influential social media platform. This transition was met with resistance at the time, with various staff quitting the platform or getting laid off, while a handful of celebrities deactivated their accounts in protest of his “free speech” policy. Big advertisers also fled the platform in their numbers, citing Musk’s abuse of X by allowing antisemitism, misinformation, and hate speech to thrive freely.
Elon Musk was also forced to step down as CEO of the platform following a self-conducted Twitter poll, but stayed on in his executive capacity. After a scandal-riddled stint as the X owner, the tech mogul is ready to hand in the reins to a more advanced successor— Himself.
Elon Musk Sells X to His AI Company for $33 Billion
On Friday, the tech CEO took to his X platform to announce that his Artificial-intelligence company xAI has acquired his social media platform for $33 billion in an all-stock transaction. This new deal includes $12 billion in debt, rounding up the actual figures to $45 billion, a billion more than he acquired it for back in 2022. In his statement announcing the change-up, Musk explained that xAI and X had intertwined features. With both companies topping their respective fireld, (X as the most influential digital space, and xAI one of the leading AI labs in the world) the billionaire believes combining both models “will unlock immense potential.” He wrote,
“The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people, while staying true to our core missionof seeking truth and advancing knowledge.This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress.”
Elon Musk concluded the post with a note of appreciation to everyone at X and xAI for contributing to bringing them this far. This merger brings the value of the company combined to $80 billion. Expectedly, many netizens had difficulty discerning the significance of the transaction and why it was necessary to begin with given both companies belonged to the same man. They questioned the legitimacy of the transaction, and how the said company was valued to reach the agreed transactional amount. One X user questioned,
“What does it even mean” You’re a private company, why is there stock?”
Another wrote,
“I’m so curious as to why X folded into xAI and not the other way rounf. It seems like X has the broader base as a platform and that xAI would literally be a medium/small feature on X.”
Elon Musk Deemed a Fraud After Selling X
Netizens also accused the billionaire of fraudulent practices, pointing out that by selling X to xAI, his startup headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area, Elon Musk absolved the company of existing debts, as well as accrued taxes. One X user described the entire transaction as a “ponzi scheme,” while others likened it to “money laundering,” and “illegal insider trading.” One netzen deemed the aquisition as part of Musk’s elaborate scheme to beat the system, analysing,
“Step 1: Scare off tax department as part of DOGE. Step 2: Use profitable company to buy failing company – with shares – avoid capital gains tax. Step 3: Reduce taxable income by using losses from failing company to write off profits from succeeding company. It’s all legal, but is it all fair?”
Reddit users predicted an ensuing court case, and the prosecutor’s possible defence, with one writing humorously,
“This Smells Like Fraud, your honor.”
Elon Musk is no stranger to dealing with controversies springing up from his ownership of the X platform. He’s been accused severally of promoting hate speech and misinformation among others, all in the guise of “free speech.” The billionaire has also been dragged for supposedly using his platform to influence the results of the US presidential elections. Most notably, X came in handy for Musk and his favored political party during the presidential elections as he continuously promoted tweets that favored Donald Trump and the Republicans.
Hate speech, antisemitism and misinformation also ran wild on the site throughout his stint, with his AI-powered chatbot, Grok, a product of xAI, doing little to curb the menance. Hopefully, the full acquisition of the social media platform by the artificial-intelligence startup would make all the difference, and promote a better user experience for over 600 million X users.
