Elon Musk, the outspoken entrepreneur and former CEO of Tesla, has acknowledged that Twitter’s ad revenue has plummeted by more than 50%. Musk attributed this significant drop to US advertisers attempting to force the social media platform into financial ruin due to its commitment to free speech.
Musk responded to a New York Times report that said Twitter’s US ad revenue has decreased by 59% over the course of five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May, or about $125 million less than the same period last year. Following this financial setback, Twitter’s newly appointed CEO, Linda Yaccarino, will have to work to improve the business’s financial standing. Yaccarino’s nomination was made public by Musk last month, and her start date was extended by two weeks to handle the pressing issue at hand. Yaccarino is anticipated to concentrate mainly on business operations and luring advertisers back to the platform because she was NBCUniversal’s former chief of advertising.
Advertising is a vital revenue stream for Twitter, accounting for over 90% of its total earnings in 2021. It is projected that the company will experience a consistent decline of at least 56% in weekly revenues throughout this month when compared to the previous year.
During a “Twitter Spaces” conversation with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Musk emphasized the immense financial pressure that organizations face from advertisers to conform to certain expectations. Kennedy Jr., who recently entered the presidential race as a Republican candidate, praised Musk as a champion of free speech.
Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, supported Kennedy Jr. despite his struggles and projected his win in the Republican primary. After Ron DeSantis used Twitter to announce his own presidential campaign, Musk has been urging other candidates to interact with the people there.
Musk expressed concern over the intense pressure exerted by advertisers and denounced it as a corruption of democracy. He did, however, express gratitude to companies like Apple and Disney that remained loyal to Twitter despite the controversies surrounding its free speech stance. Twitter’s ad sales staff reportedly informed The New York Times that this stance had led to an increase in pornography and hate speech on the platform.
As Twitter grapples with its dwindling ad revenue, Yaccarino welcomed Joe Benarroch, a former colleague from NBCUniversal, to the team. Benarroch, who will focus on business operations at Twitter, held senior positions in communications, advertising, and partnerships at NBCUniversal and Meta.
The coming months will undoubtedly be critical for Twitter as it strives to regain advertisers’ trust while maintaining its commitment to free speech, all under Yaccarino’s leadership.