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A week after taking the helm of Twitter, Elon Musk has declared that Twitter usage is actually “an-all time high” amid the confusion of mass firings (and attempted re-hirings), advertisers abandoning ship and sudden policy shifts.
“Twitter usage is at an all-time high lol,” Musk wrote, adding that, “I just hope the servers don’t melt!”
Musk also tweeted out a chart showing Twitter’s monetisable daily active users (mDAU) has been growing rapidly – up from 240 to 255 million since July, while US mDAU is up by three million. The Financial Times on Monday reported Twitter had sent an email to advertisers with the claim that Twitter user growth is “accelerating” and had hit “all-time highs” during Musk’s first week as captain.
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The email, sent to advertisers on Monday, said Twitter’s mDAUs grew by 20%, up from the 15% growth rate in Q2 2022, the last time it reported earnings as a public company. Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter closed on October 27.
Also: Elon Musk promises not to make Twitter a ‘free-for-all hellscape’
This metric reflects the number of logged-in users who see ads on Twitter. When Twitter launched its $2.99 per month per user Twitter Blue last November (which Musk has now increased to $8), it said it aimed for a 315 million mDAU in Q4 2023, up from 152 million mDAU in Q4 2019. Twitter then hoped to double annual revenue from $3.7 billion in 2020 to in excess of $7.5 billion in 2023.
At Twitter’s Q2 2022 earnings, it reported it had 237.8 million mDAUs, up nearly 17% year on year.
The message to advertisers comes as several large brands have suspended advertising on Twitter since Musk’s takeover due to questions about his attitude to free speech versus content moderation.
Brands that have reportedly suspended advertising since Musk’s takeover include Carlsberg, General Motors, General Mills, Mondelez, United Airlines, and Volkswagen.
Amid last week’s layoffs, he said it was a necessary move due to a massive drop in ad revenue, and blamed activist groups for pressuring advertisers to back away from Twitter.
The pace of change under Musk’s management has been rapid and controversial to many users. Musk this week announced Twitter accounts that impersonate someone without being labelled as a parody will be permanently suspended.
Musk originally wanted the revamped Twitter Blue service to be live by November 7, but it will now be released after the US mid-term elections.
Meanwhile, reports continue to suggest big changes ahead for the social media company as Musk looks to boost revenues: one report suggests Musk has even discussed putting all of Twitter behind a paywall.