Due to Musk's Loose Talk... X Advertising Revenue Halved

Half the Level Compared to Before Musk's Acquisition

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, saw the advertising revenue of X (formerly Twitter), which he acquired in October last year, plummet to half the level before his takeover.

According to Bloomberg on the 12th local time, X's revenue this year is estimated at $2.5 billion, a significant decrease compared to the previous year.

Sources say that X's advertising revenue for the first to third quarters this year was about $600 million per quarter. The fourth quarter is expected to show similar results. This sharply contrasts with last year's quarterly revenue of $1 billion.

In 2021, before Musk's acquisition, revenue exceeded $5 billion. At that time, advertising income accounted for about 90% of total revenue.

Earlier, X's management aimed for $3 billion (approximately 3.957 trillion won) in advertising and subscription revenue this year, but analysts believe the final results will fall far short of this figure.

Regarding the analysis that advertising revenue has declined, Joe Benarroch, X's Chief Operating Officer, said, "The source is not accurate, and without comprehensive details, it cannot fully explain our entire business," adding, "X is no longer Twitter and is evolving into a new global business with multiple revenue streams."

Aftermath of Supporting Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories

X faced direct backlash due to Musk's controversial remarks. This was because Musk publicly supported a post linked to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories last month.

He commented on an X post stating, “The Jewish community is inciting dialectical hatred against white people while claiming they must ‘stop hating themselves,’” with “You spoke the substantive truth.”

There was widespread backlash across American Jewish communities and civil society, and the White House issued a statement saying it was “unacceptable.” American companies such as Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Walmart, Discovery, IBM, and Apple consecutively withdrew their advertising contracts with X.

Musk responded by saying, “The media articles claiming I am anti-Semitic are far from the truth,” and “I only wish the best for humanity’s prosperity and a bright future for all.”

Subsequently, Musk appeared to apologize for the problematic post during a public discussion. However, he hurled harsh insults at CEOs of companies that stopped advertising on X, asking, “Are you trying to blackmail me with money?”

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