Elon Musk Sells X To His Company xAl for $45B

Elon Musk announced that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, had acquired his social media platform, X—previously known as Twitter—in an all-stock transaction. 

Musk shared this development in a post on X, stating that the deal valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion, with the latter figure accounting for a $45 billion enterprise value minus $12 billion in debt. This acquisition marks a significant move in Musk’s business strategy, merging two of his high-profile ventures under one umbrella.

Musk originally purchased Twitter in October 2022 for $44 billion, taking it private after a contentious process that included legal battles and attempts to back out of the deal. Following the acquisition, he rebranded it as X, slashed its workforce, and made sweeping changes to its policies and operations, leading to a rollercoaster in its valuation. At one point, investors like Fidelity marked down X’s value to as low as $10 billion due to an advertiser exodus and operational upheaval. However, its fortunes rebounded recently, partly due to Musk’s growing influence as a key advisor to President Donald Trump and a resurgence in ad revenue, with X reportedly achieving a $44 billion valuation in a secondary deal earlier in March 2025.

In his announcement, Musk emphasized the synergy between xAI and X, noting, “xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.” He highlighted that the merger would “unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach,” aiming to create a platform that delivers “smarter, more meaningful experiences” while advancing the mission of “seeking truth and accelerating human progress.” Musk also claimed X now boasts over 600 million active users, though he didn’t specify how this figure was calculated.

Reuters reports Musk, the world's wealthiest man, has also consolidated his power in Washington, D.C. by overseeing the Trump administration's cost-cutting efforts as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. That has also put him in the position to potentially influence agencies that oversee his business dealings.

An investor in xAI, and now in the combined entity, told Reuters they were not surprised by the deal, viewing it as Musk consolidating his leadership and management at his own companies. The investor declined to be named.

Musk did not ask investors for approval but told them that the two companies had been collaborating closely and the integration will drive deeper integration with Grok.

Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion and swiftly transformed it, rebranding it as X, revamping its policies and features, and cutting 80% of its workforce. A year into his ownership, X faced a steep decline, with its valuation plummeting to $16.9 billion amid an advertiser pullout sparked by Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic tweet and his subsequent profanity-laced outburst at advertisers, telling those “blackmailing” him with funds to “go f*** themselves.” 

Since that turbulent period, Musk has emerged as a key supporter and advisor to President Donald Trump, leveraging X to promote his increasingly conservative political stance. Now, X is on track for its first year of ad revenue growth under Musk’s tenure, with Bloomberg reporting, based on Emarketer data, that the platform is expected to pull in $1.3 billion in U.S. advertising sales in 2025.