X could turn profitable next year, reveals CEO Linda Yaccarino

After just about breaking even, X could turn profitable next year, CEO Linda Yaccarino revealed at the Code Conference 2023, where she also discussed charging X users, Musk’s dispute with the Anti Defamation League, and more.

X could turn profitable next year, revealed the X CEO at the Code Conference 2023. (AFP)

Over the last 12 months, X (formerly Twitter) has undergone a multitude of changes. Elon Musk's acquisition of the microblogging platform has spurred controversy from day 1, with people calling measures such as the removal of verification, and temporarily limiting tweet views draconian. After managing the company as the CEO for a while, Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino as his successor. This change hasn't really moved people's opinions about the Musk-owned company, as its rival Threads soared in popularity as soon as it was launched by Meta. 

Despite this, X could turn profitable next year and most of its top advertisers are back, according to the CEO.

On profits and advertisers

According to a report by The Verge, at the Code Conference 2023, CNBC's Senior Media & Tech Correspondent Julia Boorstin was joined by X CEO Linda Yaccarino for a chat. Yaccarino revealed that from the perspective of “operating cash flow”, X is “just about break even”. However, it could even turn profitable next year, as the CEO mentioned, “We'll be turning a profit”.

Yaccarino was also asked about the advertisers that left the platform in the past. She revealed that 90 percent of all the top 100 advertisers have now returned to X, with 1500 returning in the last 12 weeks.

What about charging users?

In a conversation with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Elon Musk highlighted the problem of bots on X, and how it would be “moving to a small monthly payment” which all users would have to pay to access the platform. At Code Conference 2023, Yaccarino was asked about the same by the CNBC correspondent although she side-stepped the question. “Did he say we were moving to it specifically, or did he say that's the plan?”, Yaccarino said.

Boorstin then asked whether this move was actually discussed before Musk revealed it, to which Yaccarino replied, “We talk about everything”.

On Musk and Anti-Defamation League

Musk has yet again hit the headlines recently as he blamed the Anti Defamation League (ADL), a non-profit organization that combats antisemitism and extremism, for a 60 percent decline in revenue, claiming that it was pushing advertisers away from the platform. Musk also announced that he would file a defamation lawsuit against the very organization that combats the issue.

In an X post on September 5, Musk announced, “To clear our platform's name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League … oh the irony!”

Linda Yaccarino was asked about this dispute, to which she replied, “I wish that would be different. We're looking into that.”

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