The rebranded platform X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, is facing the biggest crisis in its history. Last year, chumbox ads plagued the microblogging app, but now, the worst has come—a declining user base.
Election seasons usually boost traffic on social media, but this year’s U.S. presidential election exposed some critical issues for X. The platform, marketed as an “everything app,” has experienced a mass exodus of users, fueled by a surge in misinformation, toxic discourse, and Musk’s open support of Donald Trump.
One major beneficiary of X’s fall is Bluesky, a new alternative platform that has seen a large increase in new users and daily engagement. According to Mashable, the post-election environment does explain some of this migration, but X’s user retention issues began before the election, signaling deeper, long-term problems.
Historically, major events like elections have driven large traffic spikes for platforms like X. True to form, the 2024 U.S. presidential election generated a short-lived increase in X’s daily active users. Data from SimilarWeb indicates X enjoyed a brief uptick in activity on Election Day and the days following.
Last month, some users fled Musk’s platform due to new rules targeting free speech and privacy. Things became even more unbearable when Trump won the U.S. presidency. However, the bigger picture tells a different story. In the weeks leading up to the election, X had been steadily losing daily active users. In October alone, X reportedly lost between 300,000 and 2.6 million daily users in the U.S. each day. By the end of the month, its daily U.S. user base had dropped from 32.3 million to 29.6 million, indicating an 8.4% decline.
X’s Steady Decline: A Pre-Election Trend
X’s problems go well beyond the election cycle. Back in September, Mashable reported that X had already lost nearly 20% of its daily active users. The platform’s issues do not begin and end in the U.S., with similar trends observed in the UK and EU markets.
The future doesn’t look promising either. Analysts at eMarketer forecast that X will lose 7 million monthly active U.S. users between Musk’s acquisition in 2022 and the end of 2025. This trend reflects ongoing dissatisfaction among users and increased competition from alternative platforms like Bluesky.
The Decline of X’s Brand and Value
The user exodus isn’t the only problem X is facing. Its brand and financial valuation have also taken a huge hit following Elon Musk’s acquisition. As reported by Brand Finance, X’s brand valuation now stands at $673 million—a staggering drop from $5.7 billion in 2022.
The financial fallout is equally alarming. Internal company data reveals that X’s revenue had sunk by 40% by mid-year 2024 compared to the previous year. Advertisers have continued to pull back amid controversies surrounding Musk’s management style as well as the toxic nature of the platform.
What Will X Do Now?
While X is trying to establish itself as a leader in the social media space, the user exodus and declining brand value are not exactly encouraging signs. The increasing popularity of Bluesky, which has rallied 700,000 users seeking real human connection, is just part of the larger trend.
If this situation isn’t alarming for Musk, it’s hard to predict how X will fare, especially considering that some users are also flocking to Meta’s Threads, a platform free of ads where they can engage with “real” people.
