Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has reached a major milestone on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), becoming the first individual to amass 200 million followers. This achievement comes just two years after Musk purchased the microblogging platform for a whopping $44 billion.
While some media reports claim that a large portion of Musk’s followers are inactive or fake accounts, his influence on the platform is undeniable. He currently sits atop the list of most-followed individuals, surpassing even former US President Barack Obama, who holds the second spot with 131.9 million followers.
Obama, the 44th US President and the first African-American to hold the office, is widely regarded as a highly influential figure with a massive following on X. Coming in third is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, with 113.2 million followers, closely followed by Canadian singer Justin Bieber at 110.3 million. Barbadian singer and businesswoman Rihanna rounds out the top five with 108.4 million followers. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also holds a significant position with 102.4 million followers worldwide.
Beyond the individual follower counts, X continues to see strong growth in user engagement. Data from the third quarter of 2023 (July 1 to September 30) reveals a 12% year-over-year increase in daily user-second, reaching 363.6 billion. Monthly active users also saw a 2% year-on-year growth, hitting 547.9 million. Notably, daily video views surged by an impressive 43% year-on-year to 8.9 billion.
Elon Musk has previously stated that X currently boasts approximately 300 million daily active users (DAUs) and over 600 million monthly active users (MAUs). He envisions transforming the platform into an ‘everything app,’ allowing users to engage in a wide range of activities, including uploading films and TV series, and sending and receiving money digitally.
As X continues to evolve under Musk’s leadership, its future direction and the impact on the social media landscape remain to be seen. However, one thing is clear: Elon Musk’s influence on X is undeniable, and his journey to build a comprehensive ‘everything app’ is likely to shape the future of online interaction.
