‘Musk X’ in crisis…bankruptcy fears emerge amid string of ad breaks.

Analysts have suggested that the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, could face bankruptcy. This comes after a series of global corporations ceased advertising on X following Musk’s acquisition last year.

On February 2nd, local time, the British BBC reported on the ongoing global corporations’ advertising halt on X, stating, “It may seem unimaginable that the company Musk acquired for $44 billion could go bankrupt, but it is possible.”

Controversy arose after Musk’s acquisition of X, with claims that the platform saw an increase in hateful expressions. Recently, the situation escalated as Musk posted a message supporting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, leading to a significant exodus of advertisers. Major advertisers such as IBM, Apple, Walt Disney, and Walmart have consecutively declared an advertising halt on X.

Musk seemed to be trying to mitigate the controversy by visiting Israel on the 27th of last month and showing support for the obliteration of Hamas. However, two days later, he escalated the situation further by hurling profanity at the departing advertisers during a public interview with the New York Times (NYT).

According to the BBC, last year, X’s revenue was 90% reliant on advertising. In this context, the departure of advertisers is seen as a threat to the company’s survival. Last year, Twitter’s advertising revenue was around $4 billion, but this year it is projected to be ‘halved’ to about $1.9 billion.