Elon Musk on Friday evening announced a major shake-up in his business empire: X, formerly known as Twitter, has been sold to his artificial intelligence company, xAI, in a deal valued at $45 billion.
While the sale price slightly surpasses the $44 billion Musk paid for X in 2022, the agreement includes $12 billion in debt.
Musk confirmed the acquisition on his X account, revealing that the deal assigns X a valuation of $33 billion.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk stated in a post. “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”
While Musk did not detail any immediate structural changes, X is already integrating xAI’s Grok chatbot into its ecosystem.
The billionaire envisions this merger as a way to enhance user experience on the platform, promising it will “deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences.”
According to Musk, the combined entity now holds an $80 billion valuation.
X’s Rocky Road and Resurgence
Since Musk’s acquisition in 2022, X has undergone a turbulent transformation. Massive layoffs, a controversial overhaul of its verification system, and the reinstatement of accounts previously suspended for hate speech led to an exodus of major advertisers.
These moves triggered financial instability, with investment firm Fidelity estimating in late 2023 that X had lost nearly 80% of its initial value.
However, a slow but notable recovery followed, with X reclaiming about 30% of its former worth by December.
The latest sale signals a surprising turnaround. Reports suggest that major brands like Apple and Amazon, which had distanced themselves from the platform due to concerns over content moderation, have started reinvesting in X advertising campaigns.
Additionally, bondholders who once faced significant losses were able to offload billions in X-related debt at 97 cents on the dollar earlier this month, albeit at high interest rates.
Musk’s growing political involvement has also played a role in X’s changing fortunes. As a special government employee in the Donald Trump administration, Musk wields significant influence over federal policies, particularly in areas related to technology and efficiency.
His role at the Department of Government Efficiency has raised questions about his ability to juggle multiple ventures, particularly Tesla, but has simultaneously reinforced his political and economic clout.
Musk has been aggressively expanding his footprint in the AI industry, an area of strategic focus for both the U.S. government and the broader tech sector.
Earlier in 2025, he spearheaded an effort to acquire OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in a bid worth nearly $100 billion.
The move reflected his long-standing rivalry with OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman.
The integration of X with xAI could serve as a catalyst for Musk’s AI ambitions, giving xAI direct access to a massive user base for testing and rolling out its latest models.
This alignment could prove to be a game-changer, providing Musk with a powerful platform to advance AI technologies at scale.
Under Musk’s leadership, X has evolved into a dominant platform for political discourse, particularly favoring conservative narratives.
His support for Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has been evident, with X serving as a megaphone for pro-Trump content.
Musk’s posts to his 200 million followers have included inflammatory rhetoric on immigration policies and attacks on progressive ideologies, often invoking the term “woke mind virus.”
With Trump back in office and Musk embedded within the administration, X has solidified its role as a key hub for government messaging.
The platform’s growing influence could have profound implications, shaping political narratives and public opinion in real-time.
As Musk continues to intertwine his business ventures with his political ambitions, investors are making a calculated bet—not just on X’s business model, but on its owner’s far-reaching influence.
