Elon Musk says Twitter is on track to ‘roughly break even cash flow’ in 2023

Elon Musk says Twitter is now on track to hit ‘roughly breakeven cash flow’ next year as the billionaire owner defends his cost-cutting measures on the media platform social.

Twitter was previously heading for a “negative cash position of $3 billion (nearly Rs 24,870 crore) a year” ahead of the cost cuts, Musk said on Wednesday during a Twitter Spaces audio chat.

Since taking over Twitter on October 27, Musk has laid off 50% of the company’s employees and demanded that the remaining staff commit to long hours and a “hardcore” culture, which has led to more employee departures. The controversial moves have rattled advertisers, who contribute 90% of Twitter’s revenue.

“We have a fire emergency drill,” Musk said. “That is the reason for my actions.”

Musk said Twitter was previously on track to spend $5 billion (nearly Rs. 41,440 crore) next year. With debt of $12.5 billion (nearly Rs 1,03,600 crore) due to the acquisition, Twitter was facing a net cash outflow of $6.5 billion (nearly Rs 53,890 crore). rupees) with revenues of around $3 billion next year. That equated to negative cash flow of $3 billion, Musk said.

During the Spaces session, Musk said his “number one priority” was to grow revenue from followers so they become a meaningful part of Twitter’s business, at a time when companies are cutting advertising budgets in a weak economy.

Twitter currently has just over 2,000 employees, Musk added.

Meanwhile, Musk also said on Tuesday that he would step down as Twitter’s chief executive once he finds a replacement. His response came as an apparent response to a poll he launched that suggested users wanted him to quit.

“I will step down as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!” Musk tweeted, saying he would only be leading software and server teams on Twitter then.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

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