• by Colin Kirkland , February 21, 2025

Despite Elon Musk tarnishing X's value and reputation through controversial staff cuts, threats aimed at advertisers, and the proliferation of harmful content across the platform, the social-media company may reclaim its original valuation from Musk's 2022 purchase.

According to Bloomberg, anonymous sources reported X's involvement in talks with investors -- the first known investment round since Musk took X private -- to raise money at a $44 billion valuation despite user and advertiser losses.

Whether or not this funding will go through is still unknown, but it sheds light on a potential comeback for X through questionable tactics.

For example, reports have surfaced about the billionaire entrepreneur threatening advertisers that boycotted the app when their ads ran alongside pro-Nazi content to boost their spending on X, or face the consequences.

Musk's supposed threats revolve around a major lawsuit, as well as his newfound power in the U.S. federal government under President Donald Trump.

In its legal action against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which eventually led to the group's demise, X claimed that Unilever, Mars, CVS and other major brands violated antitrust laws by scheming to deprive X of ad revenue.

To avoid an expensive legal battle and remove its name from the lawsuit, Unilever agreed to resume advertising on X.

Then, earlier this month, X added Nestle, Abbott Labs, Colgate-Palmolive, Lego, Pinterest, Tyson Foods and Shell to the lawsuit as well, in a move to pressure more brands to resume ad spending.

“We now see brands returning in quite significant numbers, because the easiest route is to just spend a minimum viable amount on the platform,” Ruben Schreurs, CEO of Ebiquity recently told The Wall Street Journal. “Not because they want to advertise there and run their ads adjacent to the content on X, but because they are afraid of legal and political ramifications of not doing so.”

Furthermore, the Journal notes that following chatter around advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group's potential $13 billion deal to merge with Omnicom Group, a lawyer at Interpublic Group received a phone call from a lawyer at X in December who insisted that the agency's clients spend more on X “or else.”

It's a threat rooted in X's connection to Trump's presidency, which Musk bet $300 million on during election season -- that if Interpublic clients did not resume advertising on X, Musk and Trump would slow down or end the deal through their influence over Republican lawmakers.

Interpublic has since signed an annual deal with X for potential client spending, according to the report.

Amazon, Apple and Kraft have also been reinvesting in X campaigns, regardless of latent brand-safety issues, and telecom company Verizon is planning to begin spending again on the platform.

Right now, X's overall value is still set significantly lower than it was when Musk purchased the platform.

The latest financial performance data X shared with potential investors shows that the company brought in $2.6 billion in total net revenue last year, compared to $5.1 billion recorded in the last year prior to Musk buying Twitter.

But legal threats to advertisers, the backing of Trump, an influx of new advertisers – including brands like Temu, the NFL, DraftKings and Dell – and additional income from funds raised around Musk’s xAI project, X could be setting itself up for a rebirth.