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Elon Musk’s X raised about $1 billion in a new equity funding round valued the social media company at $44 billion, bringing it to a valuation in line with the price paid by the billionaires in 2022.
Musk, a majority shareholder of X, was among those who bought the shares, according to several people familiar with the issue. Darsana Capital is an investor who purchased debts related to Musk’s X-Buyout, and 1789 Capital is also a venture company whose partners have invested in other Musk companies, including Donald Trump JR.
The $44 billion valuing X, including debt, comes as Musk has taken on a central role in the US president’s attempt to build close ties with Donald Trump and reduce the size of the federal government.
The shares of Tesla, the electric car maker Musk co-founded, have recently fallen as some consumers shun the brand, but some of his private empire is being boosted.
Seven banks that held the balance sheet had financing $12.5 billion on loans related to Musk’s 2022 X acquisition. It was known as Twitter at the time, but this year we were able to offload most of it.
The bank had held junior debt in excess of $1 billion after recent transactions.
The latest Equity Rais gives X cash to pay off his junior loan, several people explained the situation said. X has removed one of the most expensive loans that were added during the acquisition, with one person saying Junior Capital will cost about 13% per year.
Separately, Musk purchased additional stocks from existing investors last year. Musk has purchased $150 million worth of shares in the company, according to a publication from Kingdom Holding Company, a Saudi conglomerate and X-investor.
Over the past few weeks, X has also conducted another secondary market transaction. This valued X at $44 billion.
According to one investor at X, the return to the original purchase price was Musk’s iconic target. After taking over the group, Musk relaxed the platform’s moderation policy, leaving many advertisers, lowering revenue.
A disclosure from X-backer Fidelity Investments in late September implies a valuation of a company that costs under $10 billion.
However, some groups, including Amazon, have recently boosted marketing spending as Musk’s relationship with Trump has deepened.
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Investors say the company’s finances are also showing signs of improvement, with X posting $1.2 billion in 2024 in adjusted revenue before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. This is roughly flat from the period before the Mask acquisition, but numbers may be subject to significant adjustments.
X’s valuation was greatly boosted by Musk’s decision earlier last year to grant investors at social media companies a 25% stake in his artificial intelligence startup XAI. Since its establishment in 2023, Xai has jumped to a $45 billion valuation.
X declined to comment. In 1789, Darsana declined to comment.
Bloomberg first reported that the equity funding round was closed.
