In an unexpected announcement, Elon Musk revealed via a tweet that he has sold the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to his AI startup, xAI, for an impressive $45 billion in stock. The transaction also involves $12 billion in debt associated with X, bringing the valuation of xAI to $80 billion, according to Musk’s tweet.
This valuation is notably double the $40 billion xAI was assessed at during a recent funding round in which it raised $6 billion. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter had occurred in 2022 for $44 billion.
Following the completion of that deal in October, he dismissed several executives, some of whom had to be re-hired to maintain operational stability. Despite a turbulent start, marked by controversies over verification processes and the departure of major advertisers like Apple, the platform has since found its footing.
Musk later rebranded Twitter to X and introduced different service tiers ranging from $4 to $50 per month. The tweet emphasizes the synergy between xAI and X, suggesting that merging data, models, and talent from both entities will enhance their capabilities.
Musk stated that this fusion aims to provide smarter and more meaningful user experiences, while reinforcing their commitment to truth and knowledge advancement. As neither X nor xAI are publicly traded, details of the deal remain scarce, and it is unclear how Musk stands to benefit financially from the transaction.
Notably, on March 10, Musk faced significant challenges when X experienced outages he attributed to cyberattacks, which coincided with a steep drop in Tesla shares that resulted in a substantial loss to his wealth. Moreover, this announcement comes shortly after Musk’s bid to acquire OpenAI was dismissed by its CEO, underscoring the competitive nature of the tech and AI sectors.