Elon Musk's X Seeks $44 Billion Valuation Amid Trump's Victory and AI Integration

Elon Musk's X Eyes $44 Billion Comeback Amid Trump's Victory - 'A Major Turnaround' After Losing 72% of Its Value - Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), The Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG)

Elon Musk's social media company X is in talks to raise new funding that would value the platform at $44 billion -- the same amount Musk paid for it in 2022, according to Bloomberg. The discussions are ongoing, and the final terms could change, the report added. If the deal goes through, it would be the first major outside investment since Musk's takeover. X's Financial Moves and the Road to Recovery Since Musk took control, has had a tough time holding on to advertisers. According to Fidelity Investments, the company's valuation dropped nearly 72% by October, largely because of concerns over content moderation and brand safety. Advertising revenue took a hit, and many major brands pulled their spending. But now, there are signs of a comeback. Don't Miss: Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target - Many are rushing to grab 4,000 of its pre-IPO shares for just $0.26/share! If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? In December, as mentioned by Bloomberg, Musk's aerospace company, SpaceX, reached a valuation of $350 billion, cementing its status as the most valuable private tech firm. Meanwhile, his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, secured $6 billion in funding at a $50 billion valuation and could soon see that number climb to $75 billion. X holds a 10% stake in xAI, which ties its future to the fast-growing AI sector. To add value, X has integrated xAI's Grok 3 AI model into its platform. As claimed by the company, Grok 3 outperforms AI systems from Google GOOG GOOGL)), OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek. Following its release, X raised the price of its Premium+ subscription to nearly $50 a month as part of a push to generate more revenue outside of advertising. Trending: 69% of Millionaires Never Earned A Six-Figure Salary - Here Are 2 Things They Do To Get Their First $1 Million, According To Dave Ramsey Still, ad revenue hasn't fully bounced back. In line with industry reports, X's U.S. ad sales were down 28% year-over-year in 2024. However, some brands are returning. CEO Linda Yaccarino said in early January that 90% of advertisers who had previously left have resumed spending on the platform. X has appeared to be pressuring advertising giant Interpublic Group IPG to increase client spending on the platform, according to The Wall Street Journal. Interpublic leadership saw a phone call from an attorney from X as a threat that its planned $13 billion merger with Omnicom Group OMC could be slowed down or blocked by the incoming Trump administration due to Musk's expected role in the government, The Journal reported. Musk also is dealing with legal troubles. The Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 14 announced a lawsuit against Musk for allegedly not timely disclosing he purchased more than 5% of Twitter's common stock in March 2022. The regulator said the lack of timely disclosure allowed Musk to save $150 million on the deal. Read Next: Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target - Many are rushing to grab 4,000 of its pre-IPO shares for just $0.26/share! These five entrepreneurs are worth $223 billion - they all believe in one platform that offers a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends GOOGAlphabet Inc$181.21-0.20%OverviewIPGThe Interpublic Group of Companies Inc$27.571.85%OMCOmnicom Group Inc$83.731.74%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

X in talks to raise money at $44B valuation -- same price Elon Musk...

Elon Musk's X is reportedly pursuing a fundraising round that would value the company at $44 billion - the same price the billionaire paid to acquire the site formerly known as Twitter in October 2022. The discussions with investors have yet to conclude and the specifics of a potential round could change, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The possible move would mark the first time that Musk has raised money for X since he took the company private after the acquisition, which collapsed in value as the world's richest man cleaned house at the company. As recently as December, Fidelity Investments had marked down its stake in X by 72% since the acquisition. X representatives did not immediately return a request for comment. Controversial changes at X under Musk's leadership included sweeping rounds of layoffs and loosened content moderation rules that turned off some users and prompted an exodus of advertisers. Musk also rolled out a "premium" subscription service that includes "blue checkmark" account verification and access to his artificial intelligence startup xAI's "Grok" chatbot. X has a roughly $6 billion stake in xAI - which is currently looking to raise money at a $75 billion valuation. Musk's AI firm directly competes with ChatGPT maker OpenAI. In a sign that X's fortunes were on the rebound, banks led by Morgan Stanley sold a major chunk of debt tied to Musk's acquisition last week that had lingered on their books since the sale. The off-loading of the debt was seen as an indicator that X's revenue has stabilized. Musk admitted in October 2022 that he was "obviously overpaying" to buy the social media platform. He billionaire briefly attempted to back out of the acquisition, but ultimately followed through after Twitter sued him to adhere to the deal. The possible $44 billion valuation emerges as Musk publicly feuds with OpenAI's Sam Altman. After Musk made an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI last week, Altman replied by sarcastically claiming that he would buy X for just $9.74 billion. Musk had billed his Twitter deal as an "accelerant" for his plans to turn X into an "everything app." In January, he unveiled payments to launch an online payment system called "X Money" later this year. Musk's entire portfolio has surged since the presidential election as investors bet that his close ties to the Trump administration will benefit his business empire. Aside from owning X, he leads Tesla and SpaceX. He has frequently appeared alongside Trump at the White House and unofficially leads the Department of Government Efficiency, which is tasked with slashing federal waste. Overall, Musk's net worth is currently hovering near $400 billion - up from about $262 billion last Nov. 1, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Elon Musk's X looks to raise exactly what Musk paid for it

Elon Musk may be the biggest beneficiary of Donald Trump's re-election, surpassing even Trump himself. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Musk's social media platform X is currently looking to raise money from investors at a valuation of $44 billion. If that number sounds familiar, it's because that's precisely what Musk paid for the company formerly known as Twitter when he acquired it in October 2022. In the years since Musk took over and rebranded the entire platform as X, its revenue has plummeted by nearly half of what it made as Twitter. That's billions of dollars in lost revenue. Musk, alongside his financial backers, now seems to have overpaid for the company. One investor, Fidelity, calculated in September of last year that its investment had lost 79 percent of its value compared to when Musk acquired it. However, the U.S. presidential election changed the game. Musk threw his support behind Trump, establishing a PAC to back the Republican candidate with hundreds of millions of dollars. That investment paid off when Trump won. Now, Trump has appointed Musk to oversee the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), granting him significant influence over federal spending. Musk's companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, have secured billions of dollars in government funding over the years. However, his close relationship with President Trump is now benefiting his businesses in ways beyond government contracts. Since Musk took over X, the platform has seen a significant loss in advertisers due to content issues and some of Musk's own controversial statements. Nevertheless, after the election, some advertisers have signaled their return. While it's unclear how much they'll spend compared to previous campaigns, notable brands like Apple have begun running ads on X for the first time in years. Additionally, some investors in Musk's X, who were struggling to sell off their debt, recently found success. Bloomberg reports that some were able to offload billions of dollars of this debt at "no discount to face value," meaning they likely got back most if not all of what they put in. With X preparing to enable financial transactions on the platform and integrate Musk's AI company, xAI, and its Grok chatbot, the company is now seeking funds at the same $44 billion valuation Musk originally "overpaid." Thanks to Trump's election, Musk is now in a stronger position to raise the necessary capital.