Elon Musk Says He 'Saved' Twitter From Bankruptcy The billionaire says the last few months were a "pain" he would not "wish on anyone."

By Gabrielle Bienasz

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

NurPhoto / Contributor I Getty Images
Elon Musk and Twitter.

Elon Musk — who purchased Twitter in October for $44 billion — now says that the company is close to breaking even.

"Last 3 months were extremely tough, as had to save Twitter from bankruptcy, while fulfilling essential Tesla & SpaceX duties. Wouldn't wish that pain on anyone," he wrote in a Tweet.

He added that the company still has "challenges" but is now "trending to breakeven."

Related: San Francisco Orders Twitter to Stop Using Conference Rooms as Bedrooms or Get a New Permit

However, Twitter is now a private company, which means it does not have to complete filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and, therefore, there is no objective means to evaluate Musk's claims.

In December, Musk described Twitter as previously having been on "the fast lane to bankruptcy." The company's financial reports showed it had not made a profit since 2019, per the Wall Street Journal. Musk also took on debt financing to buy the company.

Musk then set about cutting costs amid a difficult environment for tech workers. He laid off about half of Twitter's staff and dramatically altered its culture, removing work-from-home and a monthly, company-wide, paid day off, and telling employees they needed to be "extremely hardcore."

Remaining employees are reportedly sleeping in the office, and lawsuits from former employees are piling up, per the BBC.

One laid-off Twitter employee, who is attempting legal action, told the BBC that Twitter's purpose "went to garbage when Elon bought the company."

He has also reportedly stopped paying the company's rent. A few entities, including a marketing company, a landlord in San Francisco, and the UK's Crown Estate have come after the company for what they have said is Twitter not paying its bills.

Related: Twitter Sued for Unpaid Rent at San Francisco HQ Following Musk Takeover

Musk's Tweet was in response to a WSJ article that used Musk's testimony in a recent, unrelated trial from a Tesla, as well as other public statements, to discuss the CEO's notoriously punishing schedule — over 120 hours of work a week, Musk has said, and his complaints of intense back pain.

Gabrielle Bienasz is a staff writer at Entrepreneur. She previously worked at Insider and Inc. Magazine. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

AI Could Cause 99% of All Workers to Be Unemployed in the Next Five Years, Says Computer Science Professor

Professor Roman Yampolskiy predicted that artificial general intelligence would be developed and used by 2030, leading to mass automation.

Buying / Investing in Business

From a $120M Acquisition to a $1.3T Market

Co-ownership is creating big opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Buying / Investing in Business

Big Investors Are Betting on This 'Unlisted' Stock

You can join them as an early-stage investor as this company disrupts a $1.3T market.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg 'Insisted' Executives Join Him For a MMA Training Session, According to Meta's Ex-President of Global Affairs

Nick Clegg, Meta's former president of global affairs, says in a new book that he once had to get on the mat with a coworker.