Elon Musk has lost Twitter over $30 billion in less than a year

Elon Musk in front of the Twitter logo
(Image credit: Future)

Twitter has not been Elon Musk's finest purchasing choice so far. He bought the platform for $44bn back in October 2022, and now one of the last remaining investors in the social platform has confirmed that the company has lost around two-thirds of its original value.

The Guardian reports that Fidelity, an investment company that holds a stake in Twitter, has confirmed that its initial $20m investment is now only worth $6.6m. That puts Twitter's total value at around $14.75bn – an incredible $30bn loss in the space of only nine months.

Where's it all gone?

Fidelity disclosed the information in its quarterly performance reporting, as a part of the blue-chip growth fund – an initiative that invests in a range of US and international companies with a focus on, crucially, 'stable valuations.'

When Musk took over Twitter, he offered to value Fidelity's stake in the company at $20m. The Guardian says that "That valuation came with an incentive for Musk to lowball the estimate, however, because the higher it was, the more expensive employee remuneration would be."

Musk has had a rough time with Twitter since he bought the platform, in some cases becoming a laughing stock in the financial sector. He's laid off massive amounts of his workforce and faced backlash from key staff and even celebrities over his handling of the platform.

To try and make Twitter some money, Musk introduced Twitter Blue – although that just created its own problems, with users creating targeted block lists for verified accounts. Most recently, Musk pulled out of a European misinformation group, jeopardizing the company's future in the continent.

While Musk claims that since he's taken over the number of Bot accounts and the amount of misinformation has decreased, some believe otherwise – and now it looks like the valuations of his company are falling by the second.

Do the continued blunders of Musk stop you from using Twitter? Join the conversation in our forum if you've moved onto other services since.

Tammy Rogers
Senior Staff Writer

As iMore's Senior Staff writer, Tammy uses her background in audio and Masters in screenwriting to pen engaging product reviews and informative buying guides. The resident audiophile (or audio weirdo), she's got an eye for detail and a love of top-quality sound. Apple is her bread and butter, with attention on HomeKit and Apple iPhone and Mac hardware. You won't find her far away from a keyboard even outside of working at iMore – in her spare time, she spends her free time writing feature-length and TV screenplays. Also known to enjoy driving digital cars around virtual circuits, to varying degrees of success. Just don't ask her about AirPods Max - you probably won't like her answer.

  • Just_Me_D
    There’s a difference between “losing $30 billion dollars and being valued $30 billion dollars less than before.
    Reply
  • Jbairdjr
    Yet he will be saving millions or billions by not paying people that must have served no purpose at the company.
    I doubt these numbers, and they still don't reflect what someone might pay if the company was for sale, as opposed to what the stock value is.
    Its amazing how the tech world turned on Elon when he decided he wouldn't censor speech on his platform.
    Reply
  • Just_Me_D
    Jbairdjr said:

    Its amazing how the tech world turned on Elon when he decided he wouldn't censor speech on his platform.

    Exactly, and that’s what I find amazing. The information that’s been uncovered is astounding and frightening at the same time. In addition, the people who are hating on Elon won’t even take the time to read his tweets and they immediately shrug off the information that’s been uncovered as lies/misinformation without even reading it. It blows my mind.
    Reply
  • grover5
    Jbairdjr said:
    Yet he will be saving millions or billions by not paying people that must have served no purpose at the company.
    I doubt these numbers, and they still don't reflect what someone might pay if the company was for sale, as opposed to what the stock value is.
    Its amazing how the tech world turned on Elon when he decided he wouldn't censor speech on his platform.

    He censors speech everyday. Do not spread misinformation here.
    Reply
  • grover5
    Just_Me_D said:
    Exactly, and that’s what I find amazing. The information that’s been uncovered is astounding and frightening at the same time. In addition, the people who are hating on Elon won’t even take the time to read his tweets and they immediately shrug off the information that’s been uncovered as lies/misinformation without even reading it. It blows my mind.

    He regularly retweets crazy Qanon conspiracy theories. He has been fact checked to death over it. If those retweets are blowing your mind then I suggest you remove yourself from social media. It sounds like you’ve been down some rabbit holes that are not good for you. Nobody is punishing elon. He brought this all on himself. The dude is an idiot.
    Reply
  • Just_Me_D
    grover5 said:
    He regularly retweets crazy Qanon conspiracy theories. He has been fact checked to death over it. If those retweets are blowing your mind then I suggest you remove yourself from social media. It sounds like you’ve been down some rabbit holes that are not good for you. Nobody is punishing elon. He brought this all on himself. The dude is an idiot.

    (Laughing)…I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you….
    Reply
  • grover5
    Just_Me_D said:
    (Laughing)…I wouldn’t have expected anything less from you….

    You are certainly welcome to share his revelations. Unless he didn’t really expose anything. In that case a meaningless suggestion followed by an emoji is your best bet.
    Reply
  • Just_Me_D
    grover5 said:
    You are certainly welcome to share his revelations. Unless he didn’t really expose anything. In that case a meaningless suggestion followed by an emoji is your best bet.

    No thank you. What I wanted to say has been said and vice versa. Now there are two lines of thought/views for everyone to see and that’s what it’s all about. Thanks for your assistance.
    Reply
  • grover5
    Just_Me_D said:
    No thank you. What I wanted to say has been said and vice versa. Now there are two lines of thought/views for everyone to see and that’s what it’s all about. Thanks for your assistance.

    That sounds fair. I’ll go ahead and support my position with facts since that’s what my position is based on.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-18/fact-check-misinformation-musk-twitter-takeover/101662222
    https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/2023/twitter-misinformation-increased-elon-musk/
    https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-twitter-plans-risk-more-scams-and-misinformation-experts-2022-11?op=1
    https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-science-social-media-a7e2e3214abb4470dcb6e2837aa39c2e
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/11/30/twitter-stops-covid-misinformation-policy-elon-musk/10801860002/
    https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-trump-misinformation-election-lies-5137a88a58eaaca0e45ba043db911d15
    Reply
  • Lee_Bo
    Who is Elon Musk and what is Twitter?
    Reply