X now worth 71% less than when Elon Musk bought it, Fidelity estimates
SAN FRANCISCO - X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is worth 71% less now than it was when Elon Musk bought it in late 2022, according to Fidelity.
The investment group made the valuation on Monday, the second time it dropped the value of X in 2023, Axios reports. Musk had purchased the social media giant for $44 billion.
Fidelity was part of the investment group that helped Musk take over Twitter in a deal consisting of $33.5 billion in equity, with the remainder financed with debt to convert it into a privately held company after the deal closed in October 2022.
Twitter and Fidelity did not immediately respond to requests for comment from FOX Business.
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Musk had been deeply critical of Twitter prior to his acquisition and renaming of the company, arguing that it posed a threat to democracy and civilization itself. He argued the platform had been propagating a left-wing "mind virus" due to the basic bias of the company's leadership and employee base.
Musk fired thousands upon thousands of employees in the opening months of his leadership at X, and he has maintained a cavalier attitude toward advertisers and threats to pull away from the platform.
FILE - C.E.O. of Tesla, Chief Engineer of SpaceX and C.T.O. of X Elon Musk speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook summit on Nov. 29, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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Musk told advertisers leaving the platform to "go f--- yourself" in late November.
"What this advertising boycott is going to do is, it is going to kill the company," Musk said. "And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company."
In response to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who earlier discussed Disney pulling advertising from the platform, Musk didn't hold back.
"Don't advertise. If someone is going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f--- yourself," Musk said, adding: "Go f--- yourself, is that clear? Hey Bob, if you're in the audience. That's how I feel, don't advertise."
During the interview, Musk also apologized for endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory in response to a post on X that helped fuel an advertiser exodus.
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Musk's comments come just days after he visited Israel, where he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas terrorists and held talks with top leaders.
FOX Business' Eric Revell and Bradford Betz contributed to this report