Tesla has lost its charm this year as demand for electric vehicles falls and pressures from China mount. Even the most bullish analysts said the firm was a “wreck” in the most recent quarter, Business Insider reports.
Elon Musk is no longer the richest man in the world. Photo: Profimedia (Archive)
And with Elon Musk's net worth falling along with the automaker's shares – by more than 10% in the past year, which has seen the once-richest man in the world drop to fourth on the list to the world's richest billionaires – the Tesla boss is apparently consolidating his other businesses to prevent further losses.
It looks like the X social network will return to the pre-Musk days of the old Twitter.
“Musk's Desperation”
“I think the strategy as it plays out right now is to go back to the basicsGabor Cselle, a former project manager on Twitter's trends team, told Business Insider.I think the whole thing of making X something wildly different and reinventing the wheel hasn't really happened, so we're seeing a return to basics“.
In recent weeks, X has seen the return of blue ticks for accounts with large numbers of verified followers, which according to CNN's Oliver Darcy showed “Musk's desperation to attract high-profile users again” on the platform.
And after significant layoffs since its 2022 acquisition, the company is reinvesting in the safety of the platform by building a new content moderation center in Texas and hiring two new bosses to oversee activity on the platform, NBC News reported earlier this month.
David Camp, co-founder of brand consultancy Metaforce, told the source that the moves appeared to be an attempt to lure advertisers back to the platform after an exodus caused by the wave of hate speech.
“Just words in the wind”
At the time Musk bought Twitter, Camp said, he “displayed a rather cavalier attitude towards the way traditional business works” and he didn't want to be “chained” of the dynamics of an advertising-based business, where the company must create and maintain stability and certainty to attract advertisers. But as revenues continue to decline and user engagement declines, Camp said that it makes sense to try to go back on the decision – although that doesn't mean it will work.
While loyal users are still present on the platform, Variety reported last fall that X has lost 15 percent of its global user base since Musk took over. And Musk himself admitted that the platform lost about 50% of advertising revenue.
“Whatever small tactical changes they make to the platform, with blue ticks, or claims of greater moderation, from an advertiser's perspective and from a brand-building perspective, it's just talk in the wind” Camp stated. “Every time he opens his mouth and says something controversial – which he enjoys – it further reinforces the impression that Twitter is an unreliable advertising partner, which is why they continue to lose revenue and will continue to struggle to attract advertisers.”he added.
Musk and representatives for Tesla and X did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
“Musk's mental health will deteriorate”
Cselle noted that he believes a return to the older, more trustworthy model of moderating or vetting content could help Musk win back some of the advertisers who have left him and solidify his status which X owned in the glory days when it was Twitter. Still, he said, the app still benefits “muscle memory” of users that keeps them coming back to the platform, rather than Musk's broken promises to release new features and make X a “app for everything“.
Twitter's downward trajectory could be similar to another Musk product: Tesla's Cybertruck. In a December blog post, PR expert Ed Zitron predicted that “Musk's sanity will deteriorate as things get worse on Twitter in parallel with Tesla's disastrous Cybertruck launch in 2024″.
The launch of the Cybertruck was marked by harsh criticism, with new owners of the $80,000-plus vehicle reporting persistent rust spots and difficulty handling the massive vehicle.
“Frankly, the best thing Twitter can do to regain its footing is to oust Musk. And the only way to do that is if he sells it – and he should sell it at a massive lossCamp said.
