--- title: "Elon Searching for Investors Gullible Enough to Pour More Money Into Twitter" description: "As Musk's fraught purchase of Twitter continues to hemorrhage money, the mogul is searching for more suckers to pad his fall." date: "2025-02-20" modified: "2025-02-20" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-investors-gullible-twitter-x" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "elon musk" - "social media" - "twitter" --- # Elon Searching for Investors Gullible Enough to Pour More Money Into Twitter ![As Musk's fraught purchase of Twitter continues to hemorrhage money, the mogul is searching for more suckers to pad his fall.]() *\Image: Andrew Harnik via Getty / Futurism\* In 2022, Elon Musk placed a bid of almost $44 billion to [acquire Twitter](), which he then tried to [worm out of](). With his [back against the wall]() after a brief skirmish in the courts, Musk chose to honor his original purchase agreement and take over the platform. Flash forward to the present day, and X-formerly-Twitter has lost [upward of 79 percent]() of its original value after neo-Nazis [flocked to the platform]() and big-name advertisers [fled in droves](). Now, in a somewhat rare move for the richest man on Earth, Musk has taken to beg investors for more funds at a valuation of at least $44 billion, according to [reporting by *Bloomberg*](). That's the same price Musk acquired it for nearly two years ago — a pretty bold move, to say the least. Needless to say, at this price, Musk's valuation far exceeds the company's estimated value, which was [$9.4 billion]() as of 2024, according to Fidelity Investments. By all accounts, the billionaire's tenure over the platform has been a financial disaster, incurring a debt of [$13 billion]() at its peak. Investors [peeking into X's books]() have also noticed the company lost about $1 billion in cash since Musk acquired it in 2022. Insiders who spoke to *Bloomberg* indicated that this fundraiser would help the company pay off its remaining debt of $1 billion, among other smaller projects. These include Musk's [much-ridiculed]() promise to turn X into a combination [banking](), [dating](), and [video]() platform, or, as [he calls it](), "the Everything App". It's not clear why Musk — [currently worth]() almost $400 billion — doesn't finance the sum himself, though he could be trying to stimy the losses to his fortune since he took up the DOGE mantle. So far in 2025, Musk's total net worth has plummeted by [nearly $90 billion](), owing mostly to a [major slump]() in Tesla sales since December 2024. Though X's value might currently be in the toilet, Musk's fundraising comes after some optimistic Wall Street banks decided to start offloading the [company's debt]() to creditors. The debt buyers are seemingly encouraged by Musk's [close ties]() to president Donald Trump, as well as the cash flowing into Musk's artificial intelligence project, xAI. The bank move might look like a short-term boost to X, but it doesn't do much to change the platform's operations, which continue to struggle. Just take it from [Musk himself](): In a leaked email from late January, the mogul told X employees that "our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even." With that in mind, it might be no wonder he picked this tiny break in the clouds to re-up on debt before the sky darkens yet again and sours investors on X for good. **More on Musk's business moves:** [*Elon Musk Is Shamelessly Firing Government Workers Who Were Investigating His Companies*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()