Twitter CEO Elon Musk claimed on Sunday that the social media company is “trending to breakeven,” just months after the wealthiest person in America told employees that “bankruptcy is not out of the question” shortly after taking over the company.
CEO Musk said his “last three months were extremely tough” running Twitter, SpaceX, and Tesla in a tweet in response to a Wall Street Journal article about his extreme workload, adding that he “wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone.”
Twitter “still has difficulties, but is now trending to breakeven if we keep at it,” he added, claiming he “had to save Twitter from bankruptcy.”
However, he provided no firm evidence of the company’s unexpected turnaround.
Twitter laid off hundreds of employees
Musk took over Twitter in late October following a $44 billion acquisition. He immediately implemented massive layoffs, laying off hundreds of employees.
He previously confirmed the company was losing $4 million per day. In November, he told employees, “there is a strong chance Twitter will not survive the forthcoming economic downturn unless there is significant subscription revenue.”
Musk has concentrated his efforts on Twitter Blue, an $8-per-month subscription service that enables users to earn a verified checkmark and see fewer ads, among other benefits.
A recent auction of old memorabilia at the company’s headquarters, including a bust of Twitter’s logo, netted thousands of dollars.
Since Elon Musk took over, Twitter has been sued for failing to pay various partners, vendors, and former employees. In one case, Private Jet Services of Florida sued Twitter for failing to pay $197,725 for transportation services.
In another case, the landlord of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters office sued the company for failing to pay approximately $6.8 million in rent in December 2022 and January 2023.
Twitter has reduced its headcount under Musk’s leadership through mass layoffs, other terminations, and internal factors that compelled many to resign, including the end of a work-from-home forever policy instituted by former CEO Jack Dorsey.
Musk to keep Twitter in business
Aside from cost cutting, the company has attempted to generate new revenue or income streams.
In January this year, Twitter sold off everything from kitchen supplies to office equipment.
However, it is still being determined whether sign-ups and Musk’s efforts were sufficient to offset Twitter’s $18.5 billion debt as of November or the company’s declining ad revenue.
Twitter lost $270 million in the last three months of 2022. According to The Information, ad sales were down 40% in January compared to the same month the previous year, and 500 of the company’s top advertisers had paused spending since Musk took control, citing Musk’s less rigorous approach to content moderation.
