Twitter: The tumultuous journey of the blue bird who became X under the leadership of Elon Musk
Social media is a playground for creative geniuses in the digital world. Among them, Elon Musk, the famous entrepreneur and visionary who recently made headlines by acquiring Twitter for the astronomical sum of $44 billion. This acquisition marked the start of a chaotic year for the microblogging platform, renamed X by its new owner.
Since the takeover, Elon Musk has not hesitated to make drastic changes within the company. Upon his arrival, he fired the existing management team and significantly reduced the workforce. Of the 8,000 employees that Twitter had, today only around 1,500 employees remain. Elon Musk imposed a climate of “fear” within the company, establishing authoritarian and demanding management. The survivors had to accept intense working conditions, without teleworking, to keep their jobs.
Elon Musk’s vision for free speech has also had an impact on Twitter’s content moderation policy. Rules on misinformation have been relaxed, moderation teams have been reduced, and many controversial figures have returned to the platform. This new approach has led to an increase in misinformation and online harassment, to the great dismay of associations fighting against these scourges.
Financially, things are not going better for Twitter. Advertising revenue has fallen significantly since the acquisition by Elon Musk, dropping the company’s value from $44 billion to $20 billion. In an attempt to rectify the situation, a new paid subscription, called “Blue”, has been launched. Those who subscribe to this service enjoy certain benefits such as reduced advertising and editing tools. Eventually, Twitter could become fully paid for all users, to discourage registrations of fake automated accounts.
To relaunch himself, Elon Musk is banking on the development of audio and video formats on the platform, and he himself organizes interviews with personalities, mainly on the right. The social network appears to be taking a marked shift toward radical political views, particularly attracting conservative figures like former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson. This orientation risks further polarizing the platform and encouraging extreme discourse.
In July, Elon Musk marked a turning point in Twitter’s history by renaming it “X”. This choice symbolizes the unknown and refers to an online bank that Elon Musk founded in 1999. This new identity testifies to Elon Musk’s ambition to transform Twitter into a super-application, capable of competing with the giants of the sector.
In conclusion, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter sent the platform into a tumultuous year. Between massive layoffs, relaxation of moderation rules, drop in advertising revenue and change of management, Twitter is facing many challenges. The future of this iconic platform remains uncertain, but one thing is certain: under the leadership of Elon Musk, Twitter is undergoing a transformation and seeking to reinvent itself to remain competitive in the ever-changing digital world.