Elon Musk’s social media platform X experienced multiple outages on Monday, with more than 41,000 users reporting problems accessing the app and website on DownDetector at the outage’s peak around 10 a.m. EDT, as Musk said the platform was targeted in a “massive cyberattack.”
Tens of thousands of users reported issues using Musk’s platform, formerly known as Twitter, after what appeared to be an earlier outage.
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Key Takeaways
- More than 41,000 people reported problems with X around 10:03 a.m. EDT on DownDetector, a website that tracks outages across platforms based on user reports, with most users reporting issues accessing the platform’s app and website.
- The number of incident reports began to decline after that peak, but between 25,000 and 36,000 users reported issues again from 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
- Earlier in the morning at 5:43 a.m., thousands of users reported similar issues with X, peaking with as many as 22,766 complaints just before 6 a.m., though issues appeared to be resolved about an hour later.
- Around 1:30 p.m., Musk said in a post on the platform that X was facing “a massive cyberattack” that was “done with a lot of resources,” adding: “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”
- In an appearance on Fox Business Network later in the afternoon, Musk told Larry Kudlow they “still aren’t sure exactly what happened,” but they had traced it to “IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.”
- Neither Musk nor X immediately responded to Forbes’ request for comment.
What Has Musk Said About The Outage?
Other than his post alleging the outage was the result of a cyberattack and his brief comment to Kudlow, Musk has not said much about it. On X, he responded to a handful of posts expressing support for him, at least one of which said “they want to silence you and this platform,” to which Musk replied: “Yes.”
What Were The Problems With X?
Most of the reports to DownDetector—58%—were about the app not working, while 31% were about the website not working. Just 11% of reporters were having issues with server connection.
Have Musk’s Other Companies Faced Attacks?
Musk claiming X’s outage is the result of a cyberattack comes after Tesla, one of Musk’s other companies, has been the target of vandalism attacks, according to multiple reports. At least 10 Tesla vehicles, dealerships or charging stations nationwide faced vandalism in recent weeks, NBC News reported on Saturday, as Musk has become more influential in American politics.
There were also a handful of “Tesla Takedown” peaceful protests across the country over the weekend, CBS News reported. The protests and attacks on Musk’s company have come as he faces increased criticism, and some legal challenges, over his role in the federal government despite not being an elected official. Musk has become a top adviser to President Donald Trump and is often considered the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has cut tens of thousands of federal jobs in an effort to save money.
Key Background
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, experienced several outages after Musk took over in 2022, though reports of issues have declined in recent years. Users reported multiple outages with the platform in 2023, as some speculated issues with X after Musk scaled down the platform’s staff. Some outages also occurred after Musk announced changes to the platform, including in July 2023, when Musk said he would temporarily limit how many posts unverified users could see as X addressed “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.”
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