X has lost more than half its value since Elon Musk bought it last year
Musk originally purchased the company for more than $44 billion in October 2022; today that valuation sits at $19 billion.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has seen its value fall significantly since Elon Musk bought it for $44 billion a year ago.
According to an Oct. 30 report from The Verge that cited internal documents, X employees were recently granted company equity worth $45 per share with the company valued at $19 billion — 55% lower than it was at the time of its acquisition.
When Twitter’s stock (TWTR) was delisted on Nov. 8, 2022, its value was only slightly higher at $53.70 per share. Musk reportedly paid $54.20 per share weeks earlier when his buyout was finalized. But although those shares were priced only slightly higher than they are now, Musk reportedly paid $44 billion overall to purchase the company.
Current documents reportedly state that the fair market value per share is determined by the board of directors based on multiple factors in compliance with tax rules. The Verge noted that Musk has not yet formally established a board of directors for X after disbanding Twitter’s existing board of directors as one of his first actions.
Other reports confirm the company’s decline in value. Fortune obtained the same $19 billion estimate from two sources familiar with the matter.
Estimates from Fidelity, meanwhile, suggest that X may be worth as little as 65% of its value last October. That would place X’s value between $15 billion and $16 billion.
Musk wants X to be an “everything app”
Despite X’s apparently reduced valuation, Musk has grand plans for the platform. During an internal call on Oct. 26, 2023, Musk described his goal of turning the social media platform into a comprehensive platform capable of handling everything from payments to securities investments as well as non-financial tasks like job recruiting and dating.
He did not state whether those plans include cryptocurrency transactions, though the platform already supports Bitcoin (BTC) tipping and NFT profile pictures.