Elon Musk, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla, announced that he will sell the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which he acquired in 2022, to his artificial intelligence (AI) corporations.
Musk noted on the 28th (local time) on his account that "xAI has acquired X for $33 billion (48.5 trillion won)." xAI is an AI corporation that Musk established in July 2023. It launched an AI chatbot called "Grok" as a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Musk stated, "With this transaction, xAI is valued at $80 billion, and X is valued at $33 billion," adding, "Including $12 billion in liabilities, the value of X is $45 billion." The acquisition was made entirely through stock transactions.
The value of X is significantly lower than the $44 billion when Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022. Musk changed the name to X after acquiring Twitter.
Musk did not elaborate on the reason for valuing X at $33 billion.
Last October, investment firm Fidelity assessed X's value to be 80% lower than when Musk acquired it. Subsequently, with the incorporation of Grok into X, its value surged significantly. Bloomberg reported in February that X was in negotiations to secure funding that could value it at $44 billion.
Musk said regarding the integration of xAI into X, "The futures of xAI and X are intertwined," adding, "Today we took a significant step in combining data, models, computing, deployment, and talent." He emphasized, "Through this acquisition, we will combine X's extensive influence with xAI's advanced AI technology to provide a smarter and more beneficial experience."
CNN explained that "one of the significant reasons for the rebound in X's value over the past few months is due to the rise in the value of xAI, in which X holds equity," while also stating, "The greatest factor behind X's astonishing rebound is Musk himself." They added, "During the Donald Trump administration, Musk gained significant influence over federal government operations and has been trying to rapidly restructure the government."