CEO Linda Yaccarino and others at X (formerly Twitter) have repeatedly tried to boast that advertisers are returning to the platform, but a new Media Matters analysis tells a different story: Since Elon Musk took over the company, it has earned 42% less ad revenue and had 28% fewer individual monthly advertisers than before his leadership began. Additionally, in the 12 weeks of Yaccarino’s tenure as CEO, the majority of the company’s top 100 advertisers pre-Musk spent a fraction of what they did in the 12 weeks prior to Musk’s acquisition. For example, Visa — which Yaccarino cited as an example of a “returning” advertiser — has spent just $10 in the past 12 weeks, compared to roughly $77,500 in the 12 weeks before Musk bought Twitter.

tl;dr They’re spending 90% less over the past 3 months than they did 3 mo before acquisition

  • ZeppoEnglish
    2•9 months ago

    Yeah, but Musk can afford to lose $20 billion, unlike basically everyone else in the entire world. Musk didn’t put in $40b. It was 20 from him, a couple from Saudis, 10 from Larry Ellison and 13 from bank loans.

    Interesting about Dorsey. I still wonder about the horrifying statement about the sale, “Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness”. Now I wonder, was he actually that deluded or was that only Elron manipulation?

    • @[email protected]
      4•9 months ago

      I think that billionaires need to think that they are the ones responsible for their success and wealth - that we live in a meritocracy and so anyone with Elmo’s money must be brilliant. I’ve also heard that Elmo can be quite funny and charming in person if he wants to be. Given that, plus the well known halo effect, I suspect that Dorsey mostly meant what he was saying, but the fact that he got his buyout guaranteed at least makes me suspect that he had reservations.