Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and government advisor, announced in a recent post that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has acquired the social media platform X, which he controls. Musk stated that X has been valued at $33 billion in the deal, following his acquisition of Twitter and renaming it X in July 2023.
In a longer text on X, the details of the acquisition were revealed, stating that xAI has acquired X in a pure stock transaction, with the combined entity valued at $45 billion, minus $12 billion in debt.
Since its founding two years ago, xAI has rapidly developed into one of the leading AI labs in the world, building models and data centers at unprecedented speed and scale.
X is the digital marketplace where over 600 million active users find the real-time source of ground truth and has transformed into one of the most efficient companies in the world, geared for scalable growth in the future.
Musk implemented far-reaching cost-cutting measures, including radical workforce reductions and new contract negotiations, while also relaxing some content restrictions and unblocking certain suspended accounts, after taking over X in 2022.
In the post, Musk explained that X has become one of the most efficient companies in the world, which would underpin its potential for scalable growth. He also emphasized the benefits of combining their resources, stating that “the future of xAI and X is intertwined.”
The announcement of the acquisition comes at a time when Musk’s role in Washington is being increasingly scrutinized by the US government and media, with CNN commenting that the news may allow Musk to rationalize his efforts between his companies, particularly Tesla and his government role.