After a turbulent journey riddled with controversies and radical decisions, elon musk is finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. On March 20, 2025, x—formerly known as twitter—has regained its original purchase value of €41.8 billion, nearly two and a half years after Musk’s high-stakes acquisition.
It took 874 days for Musk to get his first real sense of satisfaction from owning the platform. In October 2022, he completed one of the most expensive tech acquisitions in history, paying €41.8 billion to acquire twitter. The move sparked immediate controversy. Critics questioned the clarity of his vision and flagged his highly disruptive leadership style.
Musk quickly set the tone for his ownership. A staunch advocate for absolute free speech, he rolled back many of the platform’s content moderation rules. At the same time, he fired nearly 80% of the workforce, arguing that financial viability required deep restructuring.
Among the casualties was esther crawford, who had gone viral for sleeping at the office to meet deadlines—only to be dismissed in the mass layoff wave.
These drastic measures had instant consequences. Advertisers, alarmed by the direction of the platform, pulled their budgets. The rebranding of twitter into x didn’t help improve its image. Critics accused Musk of turning the social network into a breeding ground for disinformation and hate speech.
Internally, the environment at X became toxic, according to former employees. Many pointed to broken promises and relentless pressure. In one case, Musk demanded that laid-off workers repay severance overpayments, sparking legal backlash.
One particularly telling incident involved a software engineer who was fired on the spot after contradicting Musk about his declining popularity. Even the appointment of linda yaccarino as CEO, intended to restore order, wasn’t enough to calm criticism of the platform’s new trajectory.
Rather than backing down, Musk went on the offensive. He accused the advertising industry of an illegal boycott and launched lawsuits in response. Simultaneously, he doubled down on long-term strategy.
Musk shifted focus to new growth channels: he launched xAI, a company specializing in artificial intelligence, and outlined his vision for x to become a multi-service platform, integrating online payments and other digital tools.
Against the odds, Musk’s “scorched-earth strategy” began to show signs of success. (This strategy, borrowed from military tactics, involves destroying anything that could benefit the enemy.) Despite public turmoil, high-profile investors such as sequoia capital and fidelity investments continued to support Musk’s vision.
Gradually, x regained value—culminating on March 20, 2025, when the company’s valuation once again hit €41.8 billion, matching the original acquisition price.
While regaining its initial valuation is a symbolic milestone, the road ahead is still steep. Musk must now address the massive debt accumulated during the purchase. A new fundraising round is underway, with a target of €1.85 billion.
This rebound marks Musk’s first clear success since taking control of the platform. Yet the path to long-term stability remains unclear. Can x permanently win back advertisers and users? Will the bet on diversification pay off?
Musk’s ambition to transform x into a global, multifunctional platform is in motion. Whether it becomes the cornerstone of his digital empire is still unknown. But for the first time in nearly two and a half years, Musk has a victory to build on.
