After slashing staff by nearly 80% and a concentrated effort to win back advertisers, Elon Musk revealed that Twitter is now breaking even and that it could turn profitable “in a matter of months.”
The 51-year-old billionaire formally acquired Twitter for $44 billion back in October and almost immediately started trimming the fat. During a sweeping interview with BBC late Tuesday, nearly six months after his takeover, Musk confirmed the social media platform now boasts just 1,500 staffers, a marked reduction from the nearly 8,000 employed at the time the acquisition.
It’s “not fun at all” and can oftentimes be “painful,” Musk said of running and course-correcting the company.
The Tesla Tycoon went on to defend the sweeping layoffs, emphasizing that it’s not simply a “caring vs. uncaring situation.”
“It’s like if the whole ship sinks then nobody’s got a job,” he continued. “What would you do? If you’ve four months to live … in 120 days you’re dead, so what do you want to do?”
During the same interview, Musk said “almost all” advertisers have returned following his tumultuous takeover. Twitter in April revealed it had agreed to sell to the SpaceX founder at $54.20 a share. He later tried to escape the deal — alleging the platform did not accurately disclose the number of bots and spam accounts on the site — leading the company to sue.
A legal back and forth ensued in the weeks prior to Musk’s acquisition, spooking investors and advertisers alike.
Despite the initial struggles and the subsequent challenges, the SpaceX CEO said Twitter is finally on its way back to making money.
“I’d say we’re roughly breakeven at this point,” he told BBC. “Depending on how things go, if current trends continue, I think we could be … cashflow-positive this quarter, if things keep going well.”