Elon Musk could be on the verge of pulling off the unthinkable: rescuing his $44 billion investment in X.

In October 2022, Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion—likely an overpayment—before immediately implementing sweeping changes that threw the company into disarray, causing its advertising revenue and overall value to plummet. Now, nearly two and a half years later, Musk might be on the verge of a remarkable turnaround: the company, now rebranded as X, could soon be valued at the same $44 billion he initially paid for it.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that X is negotiating a fundraising round that could value the company at $44 billion. However, the anonymous sources cited warned that the talks may fall through, and it's uncertain whether X will actually reach that valuation.

This news coincides with a recent positive shift for X. Many major advertisers, who had fled the platform after a rise in hate speech and the appearance of ads next to pro-Nazi content, are now returning. (In response to advertiser concerns, X has made certain pro-Nazi accounts ineligible for ads.) Notably, Amazon and Apple are reportedly reinvesting in X campaigns—an impressive endorsement from two major, mainstream brands.

X’s recovery has also benefited bondholders, who were previously in a difficult position, but were able to sell billions in X debt at 97 cents on the dollar earlier this month, albeit with steep interest rates.

In addition, X reportedly holds a stake in xAI, Musk's AI company, which is aiming for a $75 billion valuation in its latest funding round, as reported by Bloomberg.

However, the most significant driver behind X’s revival seems to be Musk himself.

X did not respond to a request for comment on the ongoing fundraising efforts or the potential influence of Musk’s White House ties on the platform's valuation.

X's Role in the Trump Era

Musk’s position as a special government employee under President Donald Trump has granted him considerable influence over the federal government, which he has quickly sought to reshape. Investors in X may be placing their bets on Musk rather than the company’s actual business—similar to how Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (parent of Truth Social), holds a market value of over $6 billion despite only generating $3.6 million in revenue for 2024.

Last year, Musk turned X into a pro-Trump platform, using it to promote the former president's campaign. Musk pushed racially charged conspiracy theories about Biden’s immigration policies and frequently lamented the so-called “woke mind virus,” a term used by some conservatives to describe progressive ideologies.

Now, with Trump back in the political scene and Musk's involvement in the executive branch, X has once again become the dominant platform for engaging with the Trump administration. Musk has also used X to publicize his changes to government efficiency.

This has made X once again an essential platform for real-time news and discussions, overshadowing other social networks like TikTok and newer Twitter alternatives.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives argued, “The best thing that ever happened to Musk was betting on the Trump White House,” adding that Trump’s potential re-election has likely doubled X’s value.

From Near Obscurity to Prominence
X’s revival is remarkable, considering that Fidelity, whose Blue Chip fund holds a stake in the platform, estimated its value in October 2024 at just 20% of the $44 billion Musk originally paid. By December 2024, X had improved but was still only worth around 30% of its original valuation.

After Musk took control, Twitter (now X) underwent a dramatic transformation. Musk cut the company’s workforce by roughly 80%, reversed Trump’s permanent ban, reinstated accounts of white supremacists and conspiracy theorists, altered the verification system in a way that muddled identity verification, removed protections for transgender individuals in Twitter’s hate speech policy, elevated the “Community Notes” user-generated fact-checking system to replace the company’s moderation efforts, and publicly chastised advertisers who left the platform.

Musk’s behavior also included confrontations with advertisers, such as a notable moment in November 2023, when he told Disney CEO Bob Iger to “go f**k yourself” for pulling Disney’s ads from the platform.

In response to criticism from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) about X’s handling of hate speech, X filed a lawsuit against the organization, accusing it of attempting to harm the platform’s ad business. The suit was dismissed by a federal judge who deemed it an attempt to punish the nonprofit for its criticism.

When Musk purchased Twitter, he called it a struggling company that needed to embrace more “free speech” and transform into an “everything app” like China’s Weibo or WeChat, offering everything from payments and e-commerce to entertainment and news.

Though X has made strides, including a partnership with Visa to offer digital wallets, it’s far from achieving that vision, partly due to Musk's controversial moves that have strained trust among users and advertisers. Even some of X’s longstanding features, such as the audio tool Spaces, have faced technical difficulties during high-profile moments.

Still, Musk’s aggressive cost-cutting strategy may have improved X’s margins and profitability, potentially increasing its value, according to Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson. However, with Musk taking the company private, its financial performance remains opaque.

The high-profile brands that have returned to X in recent weeks may be seeking to curry favor with Trump and his supporters, but it remains to be seen whether they will stay in the long term or abandon the platform if new controversies arise. Apple and Amazon did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment.

Despite X's recent uptick, it still faces fierce competition from other platforms that have emerged since Musk acquired Twitter. However, it's nothing short of remarkable that Musk has managed to salvage what was once a troubled and, in many ways, expensive platform, now riddled with extremism.