Tech billionaire Elon Musk has made history by becoming the first person to reach 200 million followers on the social media platform X, which he acquired for $44 billion in October 2022.
Musk’s follower count places him significantly ahead of other prominent figures on the platform. Former US President Barack Obama follows with 131.9 million followers, while football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has 113.2 million followers. Popular singer Justin Bieber ranks fourth with 110.3 million, and Rihanna rounds out the top five with 108.4 million followers.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently crossed the 100 million mark, boasting 102.4 million followers as of now. This achievement was acknowledged and praised by Musk.
Musk recently announced that X has more than 600 million monthly active users (MAUs) and around 300 million daily active users (DAUs). Despite this impressive engagement, reports have emerged suggesting that a significant portion of Musk’s followers may be fake or inactive accounts. However, there has been no official confirmation regarding these claims.
In a statement, Musk referred to X as “the group chat for Earth,” indicating a vision for the platform as a global communication hub. He aims to transform X into an “everything app” that not only allows users to share movies and TV shows but also facilitates digital payments. Musk has also noted that X usage in the US has reached an all-time high.
Despite Musk’s follower milestone and user engagement claims, recent financial assessments have raised concerns about the platform’s value. Global investment firm Fidelity has cut its valuation of Musk-run X by a staggering 78.7%, suggesting that the platform is now worth approximately $9.4 billion. This valuation reflects less than a quarter of its original purchase price of $44 billion, according to reports from TechCrunch, citing regulatory disclosures. Neither X, Fidelity, nor Musk have commented on this significant decrease in valuation.
As Musk continues to expand the capabilities of X, the implications of these financial evaluations and user engagement metrics will be critical to the platform’s future trajectory.