While Elon Musk is often seen publicly praising how X, formerly Twitter, has grown since he took over the company, the billionaire has revealed a very different side of the equation in an email to his employees.
Musk told X employees in an email that the company is in “a very dire situation from a revenue standpoint”. The billionaire went on to add, “Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even,” Musk said in the mail, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“Over the last few months, we’ve witnessed the power of X in shaping national conversations and outcomes…We are also seeing other platforms begin to adopt our commitment to free speech and unbiased truth,” Musk added in the email.
Musk’s struggles in getting X on track:
Musk bought the social media platform, then known as Twitter, in a $44 billion deal in late 2022. Since his acquisition, Musk has made a number of changes to the company, including scrapping a free verified programme, introducing a paid membership and even changing the company’s name to X.
Musk also reinstated Donald Trump’s account and campaigned heavily for the Republican candidate in the 2024 US presidential election. Musk’s radical changes and the platform’s sudden political shift to the right caused ad revenue to plummet, but the company’s financials have since steadily improved, the WSJ reported.
Banks plan to sell billions of dollars in loans to X:
According to the WSJ report, seven US banks are planning to sell some of the $13 billion that Musk borrowed when he acquired Twitter in 2022. While most equity investors have written down their stake to around 75%, the banks are now planning to sell a senior stake for 90-95 cents on the dollar, while retaining a more junior stake.
The banks, led by Morgan Stanley, have repeatedly renewed agreements not to sell their stakes individually in the hope of a coordinated sale when X is in a better financial position.
Since Musk’s recent rise to power thanks to his alliance with President Trump, investors have approached the banks to express interest in buying X’s debt in the belief that the company is now in a better financial position.
This article was originally published by a www.livemint.com . Read the Original article here. .