Crisis of 'Meoseukeu X'... Bankruptcy Concerns Arise Amid Consecutive Ad Withdrawals

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is leading the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which is now facing analysis suggesting it could go bankrupt. This is due to a series of global giant companies ceasing their advertisements on X since Musk's acquisition last year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 2nd (local time), the British BBC reported on the recent ongoing global giant companies' withdrawal of advertisements from X, stating, "Although the bankruptcy of the company acquired by Musk for $44 billion (approximately 57 trillion won) last year sounds unimaginable, it is possible."

Since Musk's acquisition, controversy has arisen over the increase in hate speech on X. Recently, the departure of advertisers accelerated after Musk posted content supporting anti-Semitic conspiracy claims. Major advertisers such as IBM, Apple, Walt Disney, and Walmart have consecutively announced the suspension of their advertisements on X.

On the 27th of last month, Musk appeared to attempt to quell the controversy by visiting Israel and expressing support for the annihilation of Hamas. However, two days later, in a public conversation with the New York Times (NYT), he further escalated the issue by harshly cursing about the advertiser departures.

According to the BBC, last year, X's revenue depended on advertising by 90%. In this situation, the withdrawal of advertisers is assessed to threaten the company's survival. Last year, Twitter's advertising revenue was about $4 billion (approximately 5.2 trillion won), but this year it is expected to be around $1.9 billion (approximately 2.5 trillion won), a projection suggesting it will be cut in half.

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