How X Makes Money as a Social Platform: An Analysis of Twitter/X's Transformation
- Marc Griffith
- Feb 14
- 2 min read
Summary Analysis of X's revenue streams and monetization strategies in a dynamic environment: advertising, subscriptions, diversification, and impacts on investments and growth, with historical data and practical insights for tech startups. Key takeaways
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How X Makes Money as a Social Platform is a crucial question for anyone building online business models today. When Elon Musk bought X for $44 billion in October 2022, he promised to turn it into a do-it-all app. Three years later, X was first absorbed by the AI company xAI and then integrated into SpaceX in a deal that values the combined entity at about $1.25 trillion. Revenues have almost halved from the peak, fewer than 2 million people pay for a subscription, and Musk himself has admitted that the numbers are not exciting. But how does the platform actually make money, and is it worth roughly the price paid?
Year-over-year Revenue Decline
The trajectory tells the story clearly. In 2021, the last full year as an independent public company, Twitter generated $5.1 billion in revenue. In 2022, the takeover year, $4.4 billion. Then the decline began: 2023 around $3.4 billion, 2024 around $2.5 billion, with a contraction of more than 13% versus the previous year.
Revenue losses have been driven primarily by an exodus of advertisers. Controversies over moderation policies, public clashes with brands, and a trust crisis pushed many brands to cut back on platform spending, contributing to a revenue decline that calls into question the sustainability of ad-only models.
The consequences also reflect on future business models. Some readings suggest the ecosystem may need to diversify, balancing content, premium services, and enterprise solutions for companies interested in more targeted communication and advertising solutions.
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More and more measurement and analytics tools are needed to assess performance and investments. Reputation management and the ability to regain advertisers' interest depend on governance that balances content and sustainable growth.
Marica Branchesi describes detection as a turning point: gravitational-wave astronomy has entered the mainstream thanks to the use of global observer networks and the ability to triangulate sources in the sky.
The future, therefore, lies in greater diversification of revenue sources. The move toward subscriptions, premium services, or B2B tools could offer a sustainable growth path, reducing dependence on advertising.
