A Thread Already Eyeing '100 Million' Subscribers... Is Musk the Key Contributor?

97 Million App Account Holders in 5 Days
Massive Absorption of Users Leaving Twitter
Hiring Former Twitter Employees Who Were Laid Off

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, launched the social networking service (SNS) application 'Threads,' which has nearly reached 100 million users in less than a week since its release. This is a much faster record than OpenAI's generative AI 'ChatGPT.'

Online media outlet 'Search Engine Journal' cited Instagram data showing the number of Threads app account holders exceeded 97 million as of the 9th (local time).

Threads surpassed 30 million users just 16 hours after its launch on the 5th. Now, aiming to exceed 100 million users, it is expected to become the fastest app in the world to reach 100 million users.

'Thread' connection view. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Previously, ChatGPT, the fastest online service to reach 100 million users, took two months. TikTok took nine months, and Instagram took about two years and six months to reach 100 million users.

Regarding Threads' growth speed, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, said, "It far exceeded our expectations."

There are also claims that Elon Musk, the CEO and owner of Twitter, was behind the birth and rapid growth of Threads. According to the New York Times (NYT), CNN, and others, Threads was originally created to absorb Twitter users who left due to dissatisfaction with Musk's policies.

In addition, Twitter has recently been embroiled in several operational controversies. It caused inconvenience to users by limiting the number of posts viewed per person and stirred controversy by reinstating accounts of far-right figures, including former President Donald Trump, who had previously been banned.

Moreover, after acquiring Twitter in October last year, Musk carried out restructuring, drastically reducing the workforce from 8,000 to about 1,500 employees. Some engineers who left at that time were absorbed by Meta, which is seen as the foundation of Threads' technology.

Twitter also criticized Meta for allegedly using its technology. On the 6th, Twitter claimed, "Meta hired former Twitter employees to participate in Threads development, and these employees still have access to Twitter's trade secrets or confidential information."

Musk's 'provocation' ironically had the effect of promoting Threads. Right after Threads' launch, Musk strongly criticized via his Twitter account, saying, "Threads is just Instagram without photos, operated by Meta. Zuckerberg turned Instagram users into Threads users."

Regarding this, the U.S. financial media Wall Street Journal (WSJ) pointed out on the 8th, "Musk is making Zuckerberg look good again."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.