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X (Formerly Twitter) Value Drops 71% · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink.
• 0:13
  And I'm your host, Will Walden. Investment firm Fidelity has
• 0:17
  adjusted its valuation of shares in X Holdings, which is a
• 0:21
  company previously recognized as Twitter.
• 0:24
  Now, this adjustment comes as part of the mutual fund giant's
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  ongoing assessment of its investment, originally made when
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  Elon Musk acquired the company for $44 billion.
• 0:35
  Fidelity's recent disclosure, which includes data up to the
• 0:38
  end of November 23, reveals a significant markdown in the
• 0:42
  value of X Holdings and the mutual fund company now assesses
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  X Holdings to be worth 71.5% less than its value at the time
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  of purchase. This revelation includes a 10.7%
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  reduction during November alone. This markdown period coincided
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  with a controversial moment from Elon Musk, the head of X
• 1:02
  Holdings. In November during an on stage
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  interview with the New York Times, Musk responded to
• 1:07
  boycotting X advertisers with the expletive laden remark Go F
• 1:12
  yourself. The statement possibly impacted
• 1:14
  the perception and the value of the company now comparing to
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  other companies in the sector. Meta's stock rose by 4.9% in
• 1:22
  November, while Snap experienced an impressive 38.2% increase in
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  their shares. These figures highlight the
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  differing fortunes of companies within the tech industry and
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  provide a contrast to the situation at X.
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  Now, looking back, Fidelity started marking down its
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  investment in the company immediately after Musk's
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  takeover. However, it's notable that there
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  were periods early in 2023 when Fidelity either increased the
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  value of these shares or maintain their stability.
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  Now this indicates fluctuations in the company's perceived
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  worth. It's important to note that
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  Fidelity, despite being a shareholder and the privately
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  held X Holdings, may not have extensive insider information
• 2:01
  about the company's financial performance.
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  This means that their valuation could be based on very limited
• 2:05
  data and other stair holders might have different views on
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  the worth of the stock now. X Holdings, in a move that
• 2:12
  caught media attention, briefly reinstated headlines recently
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  too. And this is for user posts
• 2:19
  containing links. This happened on Tuesday of this
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  week, only to reverse this change the following day.
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  This fluctuation in the platform's features reflects
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  ongoing adjustments under the new ownership of Elon Musk.
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  Things happen at X really fast. Move fast and break stuff, as
• 2:36
  they used to say in Silicon Valley.
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  Now this alteration came, and after X had initially removed
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  news, links and headlines from post in October following Musk's
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  assertion that such changes would enhance the platform's
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  aesthetics. The removal, however, required
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  users to click on an image to view the title, leading to some
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  confusion and criticism. Musk had promised in late
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  November that headlines would be reintegrated into the platform
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  in an upcoming release, suggesting they would be
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  overlaid on the image or the URL card.
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  And now this change aimed to address user concerns about the
• 3:08
  accessibility and the clarity of linked content.
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  Indeed, posts on X with links now feature headlines, though
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  presented differently than before.
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  The temporary change on Tuesday showed headlines in small text
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  at the bottom of the image of a URL card, specifically on the
• 3:24
  desktop version of the platform. However, this update did not
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  extend to all versions of the app.
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  The change was not implemented in the iOS app and the Android
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  app. Headlines continue to appear
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  under the image as they did before the removal, highlighting
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  inconsistencies in the platform's user experience
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  across different devices. Some users on the web version of
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  X are now seeing headlines and website titles appearing over
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  the images that link to those pages.
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  This changed. While a positive, development is
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  not without its issues, such as truncated headlines and very
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  hard to read small text. The initial decision to remove
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  headlines was driven by Musk's desire to streamline the
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  appearance of posts. However, this led to
• 4:05
  difficulties in understanding where a link image would
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  redirect users, prompting workarounds like embedding
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  headlines and images or post text.
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  And Musk's promise to reinstate headlines over URL cards is
• 4:16
  gradually coming to fruition. As evidenced by these recent
• 4:19
  changes, however, the rollout of this feature is inconsistent,
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  particularly on Android and iOS, and the valuation and
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  functionality changes that X Holdings reflect the complex and
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  often unpredictable nature of the tech industry and social
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  media. Fidelity's markdown of X shares,
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  coupled with the platform's evolving interface shows that
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  there are challenges faced when you take over a company, a
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  legacy company like Twitter. The situation at X Holdings is a
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  microcosm of the larger tech industry as well, where
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  innovation, public perception and market dynamics interplay to
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  shape the fortunes of companies. And as X continues to adjust,
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  Musk's leadership, its impact on the sector and the stakeholders
• 5:01
  and the money people remains a subject of keen interest.
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  Now, Fidelity's decision to reduce the valuation of its
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  shares in X Holding in conjunction with the company's
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  ongoing adjustments to this platform shows that it's often
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  volatile at Twitter, formerly Twitter X.
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  But X will continue to adapt strategies, have responsive
• 5:21
  leadership and navigate the complexities of a new platform.
• 5:27
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 5:28
  I really do appreciate your support.
• 5:30
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  miss an episode. And each episode is about 10
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• 5:47
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• 5:49
  to patreon.com/stagezero. Please take care of yourselves
• 5:55
  and each other and I'll see you tomorrow.